Academy Coach Dave Coles competed in the Welsh Amateur Grapple and Strike finals held at Nantyglo Leisure Centre.
In order to qualify for the finals Dave competed in three qualifying events throughout the year, securing wins against Chris Nulty (NUSW) and Dominic Swombo (Cardiff MMA), and draws versus Huw Griffiths (Falcons MA) and Alex Davies (Neath BJJ). Additionally Dave was awarded two wins by default after his opponents withdrew from fights due to injuries sustained in their preliminary bouts.
The finals comprised of the top 4 fighters in each weight category fighting a semi-final followed by the final. Each fight consisted of 2 x four-minute rounds.
In his first fight Dave again faced Chris Nulty. After an initial exchange of strikes Dave took the fight to the floor and established good control. Dave delivered a number of solid punches before securing a fig-4 arm lock forcing his opponent to submit at 1:19 of the first round.
Dave (left) v Chris Nulty
In the final Dave faced Huw Griffiths of the Falcons MMA Team. Griffiths opened the round with a couple of kicks. Dave has been through some intense training sessions with his striking coach Simon Small, and the improvement in his game showed as Dave easily thwarted the attack and replied with some solid leg kicks of his own. After a flurry of punches the fighters went into the grappling range and Dave took his opponent down with a big Judo style throw. For the remainder of the round the fight remained on the floor with Dave using his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills to maintain control of his opponent, delivering solid punches to his body and making several submission attempts. Towards the end of the round Griffiths was taking a lot of punishment and as the referee moved in to stop the fight, the bell sounded to save the Falcons fighter.
The Academy Cheerleaders!
Semi-final win
In the second round Griffiths made a comeback, countering Dave’s takedown attempt and securing top control when the action went to the ground. Griffiths maintained this control throughout most of the second round but Dave sustained a very tight defence, not allowing Griffiths to land any effective strikes or attempt any submissions.
The bell sounded for the end of the fight and the exhausted pair helped each other up off the canvas to await the judges decision.
The three judges had scored the first round 10-8 in favour of Dave and the second 10-9 to Griffiths. So Dave became the Welsh Grapple & Strike Light-heavyweight champion by a narrow margin.
