Five members of Herefords Combat Academy travelled to Nantyglo Wales to compete in round three of the Welsh Amateur Grapple & Strike league.
Academy coach Dave Coles returned to the fight scene for the first time since breaking two ribs at the same event last year. In his first fight Dave was caught in an arm-lock and was forced to submit, however in his next fight he secured a takedown which he followed up with an arm-lock to secure the victory.
For the remaining four academy members this was their first time in such an event. In the under 70kg category Nick Russell gave a good account of himself but after a fairly even match was forced to submit to a choke-hold with only seconds of the fight remaining. In his second fight Nick scored with some good punches before taking the fight to the ground and submitting his opponent with a choke-hold.
In his first fight Brad Stewart (under 94kg) dominated the fight, punishing his opponent with some solid Muay Thai leg kicks and accurate punching. Just as it looked as though the referee was going to stop the fight, the bell sounded to save his opponent from further punishment.
Brad’s second fight was a war against Falcons fighter, Jack Marshman. Jack has qualified for the Grapple and Strike finals having finished in the number one position of the league and is a promising up and coming fighter. For four solid minutes the pair gave no quarter as they kept up a barrage of punches, kicks and submission attempts. With the fight going the distance the mandatory draw was awarded.
Derek Gamblin had started training for the Grapple & Strike event over two years ago but unfortunately his debut was delayed following knee surgery. In his first fight Derek dominated the early exchanges landing some heavy punches, but with only seconds of the fight remaining Derek was forced to submit after his opponent secured a powerful strangle hold. In his second fight Derek made several submission attempts and landed some good strikes but the fight went the distance.
In the –126kg category, Chris Konieczny faced a powerful fighter from the Bristol Goshin Jitsu club. Both fighters made good submission attempts and landed some very heavy punches, but they were very evenly matched and the fight went the distance. In his second fight Chris faced another Bristol fighter, again the fighters were very evenly matched with the fight going the distance.
