If you mention fighting in Atlantis on a Friday night to the average punter, they’d likely think of two lads trying to get each other in headlocks after slobbering one too many pints of Carling down their shirts. What they mightn’t immediately call to mind is the finest mens and womens boxing, K1 and MMA competitors from Eastbourne and its surrounding areas putting it all on the line in the octagon. That’s exactly what happened when First Generation Combat and Fitness Gym rolled in to town on a wet and miserable March evening.
The fight card for the night was strong with 3 title fights dotted amongst the boxing and mixed martial arts bouts.
Of the 16 fights we had:
5 boxing matches
9 semi pro MMA bouts
2 pro MMA all-out wars
Kicking things off was young Bex Packham who turned in a powerful display against her opponent, Sharlotte Stephen. Using a powerful combination of takedowns and ground & pound, Becs was the judges’ unanimous winner. Credit must go to these two young women who had the unenviable task of opening up the show, but who nonetheless showed a lot of heart and skill in the ring. They set the tone for the night, and for the quality of the fights that was to come.
Next up Jesse Hamilton took on the first of our Welsh visitors and was unlucky to succumb to a tapout in the second round. Jesse showed a lot of promise in the ring and both competitors were going full force. Indeed, a ladder that was leaning against the ring was sent flying at one point!
Up next was the first title fight – the SFC Junior Semi Pro Championship. Zak Morgan took on the second of the Keen brothers from Wales in what was an action packed 2x 4 minute round. I had heard a lot about Zak’s MMA skills from guys at the gym, and he certainly put on a show in front of the sold-out crowd. Using a strong combination of strikes and takedowns, Morgan was in control for the fight, was eventually declared the winner and had the gold placed around his waist in front of rapturous applause.
Hampden Park might very well be the next breeding ground for world champions, as both Mitch and Fifty rocked up next to claim back to back victories for 1st Gen.Mitch put a beating on his opponent in what was his in-ring boxing debut. Utilising that wicked left hook and a combination of body shots, he easily bested his opponent. Fifty turned in an equally impressive performance in MMA, showcasing some strong striking skills. His opponent tried for the armbar but Fifty was able to power through and pick up another win for the Hampden Park massive.
Next up, big Luke Parsons claimed the first submission win for First Generation when he submitted his opponent via choke in the second round of his MMA bout. This led us to the first interval, where Paul showed us all once again the importance of good head movement when he slipped and countered a hit and run attack from a pissed-up punter. It wouldn’t be a First Generation fight night without him showing us all how it’s done!
Tim Bryant was unlucky to come away with a draw in what was a powerful display of boxing after the break. Credit must go to his opponent Kerry Richardson, who also showed a lot of heart. By the third round both fighters were visibly feeling the effects, but nonetheless powered through and put on a great show.
Lee ‘Sandman’ Finch made it two for two after his in-ring domination in the boxing ring in Brighton last month. This time around Lee was in action fighting MMA. In a solid 2 round display Finch proved it doesn’t matter what gloves he wears or what ring he’s in, the end result will be the same – you’re gonna get smashed!
Another fighter who was scheduled to fight in Brighton last month, but had to cancel due to illness was Ben West. Ben had trained hard to make up for that disappointment and picked up a great victory in a masterful 3-round display. West seemed initially unhappy with his performance post-fight. Perhaps it wasn’t the 35 second knockout he’s shown in other fights, but it was a performance to be proud of and I know we’re all looking forward to his title fight in the coming months.
Sparta MMA’s Lolic Williams and Jody Cotton turned in big victories also and we were glad to see our fellow Eastbourne warriors put on such a great performance.
Gary Doocey was up next in what was a comeback bout of sorts. Anyone who’s been part of the boxing class will know how helpful Gary is, and how encouraging he is to everyone regardless of their skill level. A real gentleman as well as a skilled fighter, Doocey put on an absolute war in front of the Atlantis crowd. The crowd was cheering his name from the get-go and seemed that the volume increased with every massive body shot he landed. Gary did the bulk of the damage over the first two rounds, and even though is opponent Eski came out swinging in the final round; Doocey soon had him back against the cage. Gary was rightfully awarded the judges’ decision and this fight will easily go down as one of highlights of the night.
Up next, the powerhouse that is Alex Sailsbury staged a 2 round MMA spectacle with some crushing takedowns that echoed throughout the venue. Again the crowd was on their feet and cheering for the hometown hero, and again 1st Gen’s finest put on an awesome display of skill and power in the ring. Another deserved victory and I know we all look forward to seeing Alex in action again soon.
Sophie Cook took to the ring next in the second title fight of the night for the SFC Semi Pro Championship belt. Sophie was a credit to women’s MMA as she put on a showcase against her opponent Grace Anderson. Anderson just couldn’t keep up as Cook displayed an awesome range of skills from striking and shooting to submissions. Sophie looked every inch the champion as she dominated her two rounds. She was duly awarded the championship belt in front of deafening applause. It really was a world-class performance, and we know that Sophie is on the road to great things.
It’s taken me longer to write this sentence than it did for Danny Smith to knock out his opponent in the first round. I’ve never seen someone as laid back and casual before a boxing match as Smith. Then again, if I knew I had the ability to pull out that killer shot and end the bout after only 30 seconds, then I’d probably be pretty chilled too.
The main event of the night promised to be an epic 3x 5 minute battle between First Gen’s own Lennie ’The Sensei’ Scudder and his opponent Xavier Sedras. Defending the South Coast Championship belt for the second time, Scudder entered the octagon to huge hometown applause. His opponent seemed content to play the role of WWF heel, and his pantomime-like mocking of Scudder and the First Gen corner riled up the crowd. The chorus of boos was near-deafening as Sedras looked like he wasn’t taking the title fight seriously at all. Whether this was psychological mind games to get inside his opponent’s head or not, we’ll probably never know. Was he trying to anger Lennie and force him in to making mistakes, or is he just another in a long line of wannabe showmen? Either way, the judges awarded Xavier the win after 3 grueling rounds. It was a disappointing result and left a sour taste in a lot of peoples’ mouths. Personally, I’d love to see a rematch further down the line. Here’s hoping!
It was a great night for First Generation with an overall 14 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Everyone put maximum effort and commitment in regardless of the result. As part of the backstage team, it was great for me to feel such an amazing team spirit as everybody chipped in to help prepare fighters, ensure everyone was in the right mindset and helped make the night run smoothly. Thanks to Atlantis Nightclub for having us and thank you to the corporate sponsors including Auto Upgrades. We’ll see you all again at the next event soon!
Make sure you keep up with the action on Sean's blog
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Tuesday 12 March 2013
Pictures tell a thousand words
SFC CHAMPS
MODELLING FOR SKINNY CHIMP CLOTHING
THE JUNIOR TEAM KICKING BUTT
BOXING CHAMPS
BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU GRADING
MODELLING FOR SKINNY CHIMP CLOTHING
THE JUNIOR TEAM KICKING BUTT
BOXING CHAMPS
BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU GRADING
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Warrior Island
Hi guys, make sure you take a minute to watch this video and share it with as many people as you can to help get the Pit Bull onto Warrior Island!
SFC 5 October
Make sure you get your butts to Atlantis for a great night of action, title fights, female fights, rematches, grudge matches, this show has got it all, don't miss out get your tickets asap.... Only a handful left!
Monday 16 July 2012
Sunday 15 July 2012
Bad Boy Muay Thai
Liam "Bad Boy" Etebar is now teaching Muay Thai on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm make sure you get down and check it out, essential for anyone fighting on the next show!
Classes are a great blend of fitness and technique and suitable for all levels of ability.
Make sure you check out his Facebook page
Classes are a great blend of fitness and technique and suitable for all levels of ability.
Make sure you check out his Facebook page
Sunday Reading
Hi guys a lazy start to me keeping the blog active again, apologies 9-5 is killing me slowly but I digress... Lewis wrote this a while back before Tol's fight at the Troxy where he defeated his opponent in typical Tolly fashion but its a good read I thought I would share with you.
As Eastbourne mixed martial artist Tolly ‘The Pitbull’ Plested prepares for an April 7 showdown, he continues to fight the bigger battle of getting the sport understood.
While MMA’s growth is so rapid that it’s often referred to as the fastest growing sport on the planet, many still don’t recognise it as legitimate, and that’s something that Plested is strongly committed to changing.
Taking time out between training sessions Plested said: “MMA stands for mixed martial arts, and I’ve studied various different forms of it since I was nine. It’s about respect, and people who think it’s mindless violence are wrong. It’s made up of multiple Olympic sports. We study wrestling, judo, boxing, Taekwondo, freestyle wrestling, and many more.”
Despite gradual shifting opinions, Plested feels that it’s still far from being fully accepted, and he often feels that the violent image being attached to it detracts from his athletic commitment.
“People I know still ask me if I’m a cage fighter, and I hate that term,” he says. “I’m a professional fighter, and what I do is so much more than that. People just think I’m fighting in a cage, but they don’t understand that I’m a professional athlete, training three times a day.
“It’s just about trying to get round people’s misconceptions, but slowly we’re getting through. We’re teaching children respect in martial arts with the shows we put on, and slowly people are beginning to understand.”
Outside of the gym, Plested is a relaxed and popular character, but when competing, the 31-year-old’s determination is thinly-veiled. Having earned a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, an undefeated MMA record, and a handful of jiu-jitsu national championships, Plested is as lethal on the ground as he is with his striking when competing in the diverse arena.
In his last fight he showed his home crowd of Brighton how dominant he can be, by mauling his opponent and ending the main event by TKO early in the first round, capturing the Ultimate Championship Mixed Martial Arts (UCMMA) step-up belt. While he’s a submission expert, he enjoys putting on fights that entertain the fans.
In the build-up to his upcoming fight, he’s been training relentlessly while preparing to face fellow middleweight, Dan Movahedi, with a punishing schedule that requires him travel to several gyms in order to prepare for a tough fight on the main card of the upcoming UCMMA 27 show.
“I’m training hard at 1st Generation Fitness, and I’ve been travelling up to Slough to train my jiu-jitsu at Ze Marcello’s Jiu-Jitsu Academy,” Plested adds. “I also train at Crossface training centre in Harrow, as well as training a lot at ZT Fight Skool in Hove.”
Despite a grinding schedule, the middleweight has found a way to balance preparing for the clash on the UK’s biggest stage, as well as teaching MMA to those who train at his gym, 1st Generation Fitness, on Hammonds Drive, Eastbourne.
“Training my students is basically the same,” Plested says. “What I have had to cut back on is my one-to-one day time teaching, but I’m still there for evening classes, except one, where my top students are helping me cover.”
Having had a troubled past himself, he believes MMA is important to young people who need an outlet. “I wasn’t an angel when I was younger, I was always getting into trouble. Competing in martial arts gave me an avenue in which I could express myself, something I could apply my energies to and get me away from a lot of the negative stuff that people around me were doing at the time, like going out and doing drugs, drinking, street fighting and other troubles associated with those things. It keeps me away from all that, keeps my life focused and makes me a better person.
“I think it can help a lot of young people with the same sort of issues and problems. I coach children from the age of four, right the way through to teenagers and adults. My oldest student is 50-years-old.”
For Plested, a usual day consists of rigorous workouts, teaching students until late at night, before driving to his second job. Having trained for 22 years and competed at a high level for much of that time, Plested was never handed the keys to the empire, and it’s clear that he believes that hard work is the key to success.
“Every day I wake up, have breakfast and go straight to training,” he says, causally. “The first session is boxing, where I do bag and pad work for an hour and a half. I then go and eat and rest before my next session where I’ll drive to Brighton to meet with my strength and conditioning coach, Christian Vila. I will do an hour’s intensive circuit training, cardio vascular training and strength training.
“Depending on where I’m training that night, I will usually continue onwards to Slough, where I will train in my chosen art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, before driving home, getting back around midnight.”
As well as being a joint owner of the gym, he often heads from late-night training sessions to his second job as the deputy manager of The Long Room, formally known as Slaters, on Bolton Road, Eastbourne.
Having won the UCMMA step-up middleweight title, Plested has secured his place on the main show in London, and will enter riding an impressive 4-0 record. He’s has admitted that joining sparring partner Oli Thompson and other MMA titans in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) would be a high watermark in his career, but says he isn’t looking past his UCMMA debut.
He insisted: “I’m just trying to take one step at a time, and I’m not looking past the fight that’s ahead of me. Obviously fighting for the UFC would be a dream, but I’m focussed on what’s ahead, and that’s UCMMA on April 7.”
His fight, which will be televised on Sky Sports 3, will take place at The Troxy Theatre in East London, and has the potential for Plested to forge a pathway through the rankings at 185 lbs.
Lewis Smith
As Eastbourne mixed martial artist Tolly ‘The Pitbull’ Plested prepares for an April 7 showdown, he continues to fight the bigger battle of getting the sport understood.
While MMA’s growth is so rapid that it’s often referred to as the fastest growing sport on the planet, many still don’t recognise it as legitimate, and that’s something that Plested is strongly committed to changing.
Taking time out between training sessions Plested said: “MMA stands for mixed martial arts, and I’ve studied various different forms of it since I was nine. It’s about respect, and people who think it’s mindless violence are wrong. It’s made up of multiple Olympic sports. We study wrestling, judo, boxing, Taekwondo, freestyle wrestling, and many more.”
Despite gradual shifting opinions, Plested feels that it’s still far from being fully accepted, and he often feels that the violent image being attached to it detracts from his athletic commitment.
“People I know still ask me if I’m a cage fighter, and I hate that term,” he says. “I’m a professional fighter, and what I do is so much more than that. People just think I’m fighting in a cage, but they don’t understand that I’m a professional athlete, training three times a day.
“It’s just about trying to get round people’s misconceptions, but slowly we’re getting through. We’re teaching children respect in martial arts with the shows we put on, and slowly people are beginning to understand.”
Outside of the gym, Plested is a relaxed and popular character, but when competing, the 31-year-old’s determination is thinly-veiled. Having earned a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, an undefeated MMA record, and a handful of jiu-jitsu national championships, Plested is as lethal on the ground as he is with his striking when competing in the diverse arena.
In his last fight he showed his home crowd of Brighton how dominant he can be, by mauling his opponent and ending the main event by TKO early in the first round, capturing the Ultimate Championship Mixed Martial Arts (UCMMA) step-up belt. While he’s a submission expert, he enjoys putting on fights that entertain the fans.
In the build-up to his upcoming fight, he’s been training relentlessly while preparing to face fellow middleweight, Dan Movahedi, with a punishing schedule that requires him travel to several gyms in order to prepare for a tough fight on the main card of the upcoming UCMMA 27 show.
“I’m training hard at 1st Generation Fitness, and I’ve been travelling up to Slough to train my jiu-jitsu at Ze Marcello’s Jiu-Jitsu Academy,” Plested adds. “I also train at Crossface training centre in Harrow, as well as training a lot at ZT Fight Skool in Hove.”
Despite a grinding schedule, the middleweight has found a way to balance preparing for the clash on the UK’s biggest stage, as well as teaching MMA to those who train at his gym, 1st Generation Fitness, on Hammonds Drive, Eastbourne.
“Training my students is basically the same,” Plested says. “What I have had to cut back on is my one-to-one day time teaching, but I’m still there for evening classes, except one, where my top students are helping me cover.”
Having had a troubled past himself, he believes MMA is important to young people who need an outlet. “I wasn’t an angel when I was younger, I was always getting into trouble. Competing in martial arts gave me an avenue in which I could express myself, something I could apply my energies to and get me away from a lot of the negative stuff that people around me were doing at the time, like going out and doing drugs, drinking, street fighting and other troubles associated with those things. It keeps me away from all that, keeps my life focused and makes me a better person.
“I think it can help a lot of young people with the same sort of issues and problems. I coach children from the age of four, right the way through to teenagers and adults. My oldest student is 50-years-old.”
For Plested, a usual day consists of rigorous workouts, teaching students until late at night, before driving to his second job. Having trained for 22 years and competed at a high level for much of that time, Plested was never handed the keys to the empire, and it’s clear that he believes that hard work is the key to success.
“Every day I wake up, have breakfast and go straight to training,” he says, causally. “The first session is boxing, where I do bag and pad work for an hour and a half. I then go and eat and rest before my next session where I’ll drive to Brighton to meet with my strength and conditioning coach, Christian Vila. I will do an hour’s intensive circuit training, cardio vascular training and strength training.
“Depending on where I’m training that night, I will usually continue onwards to Slough, where I will train in my chosen art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, before driving home, getting back around midnight.”
As well as being a joint owner of the gym, he often heads from late-night training sessions to his second job as the deputy manager of The Long Room, formally known as Slaters, on Bolton Road, Eastbourne.
Having won the UCMMA step-up middleweight title, Plested has secured his place on the main show in London, and will enter riding an impressive 4-0 record. He’s has admitted that joining sparring partner Oli Thompson and other MMA titans in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) would be a high watermark in his career, but says he isn’t looking past his UCMMA debut.
He insisted: “I’m just trying to take one step at a time, and I’m not looking past the fight that’s ahead of me. Obviously fighting for the UFC would be a dream, but I’m focussed on what’s ahead, and that’s UCMMA on April 7.”
His fight, which will be televised on Sky Sports 3, will take place at The Troxy Theatre in East London, and has the potential for Plested to forge a pathway through the rankings at 185 lbs.
Lewis Smith
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