Apologies for the lack of posts, it’s been a busy few weeks and I was taking a break from the internet for a while there.
I’ll be posting some stuff up soon – to be honest, aside from ticking over with work I’ve been trying to not to think about MMA too much. Sometimes you need to take a break to stay fresh.
You pick up a few scratches and knocks when you train hard, but it’s all part and parcel of what we do. Fat lips, stiff necks, scratches, lumps bumps and bruises… No big deal.
A tiny clip of Mo’s Thursday night wrestling class at SBG. I have a fucked knee, so couldn’t train, which is a shame, although my neck is thanking me seeing as they were doing front headlock suplexes. Yeesh.
Still, entertaining to watch 
Gunni and the guys of Straight Blast Gym
Frank Trigg and Kendall Grove sparring at Xtreme Couture
Yeah, something like that.
Image courtesy of ProElite
**UPDATE** For the full fight head over to FightShop, where they’ve linked to the video.
Rosi won by split decision in her fight with Debi Purcell last night. Debi is a veteran of the sport but Rosi brought her A game and took it to her from the off. Her hard work in the gym paid off and she performed very well indeed, working everything in the cage just as she did in the gym.
I can’t tell you how happy we all are, everyone at the gym is buzzing. The fight is out there and available somewhere in Internetland, but we’ll have an evening next week where we watch the fight over a few beers at the gym, I’m sure.
Check out a very happy Rosi in this post fight interview.
“Here’s hoping”
Friend, training partner and Fighters Only contributor Rosi Sexton fights tonight in the States. Her pre-fight interview has just gone up on YouTube, thanks to the hard working dudes at Pro Elite.
It’s no secret Rosi is a pretty special human being, but she’s got her hands full going up against Debi Purcell. Purcell may be older and less experienced in the ring, but she is cutting a lot of weight to make 130lb whereas Rosi is going up from her usual fighting weight of 125lb.
Training hard
It’s definitely going to be a tough fight and I’ll admit, I’m bloody nervous about it. Regardless of how good Rosi has looked in the gym, anything can happen in a fight, and I just hope that everything goes well for her. She’s fighting in a couple of hours so until then, all we can do is wait and cross out fingers.
Hardy in Japan, photo courtesty of the chaps at Gongkaku
One of Britain’s finest young fighters, I’ve been lucky enough to have watched Dan’s career grow over the last few years. We first met way back in about 2003 (March 9th actually, it was at the very first Submission League. We fought to a draw!).
Dan’s rise over the last few years has been down to a few things: His incredible mental fortitude, his willingness to travel to seek out the best possible training, and some incredibly gutsy performances in the cage.
Almost everyone in the UK scene is pumped to see Dan debut in the UFC in October. He’s got a tough test ahead of him in Akihiro Gono, but Dan’s got a habit of proving his doubters wrong. He’s also got an amazing style of defending submissions – he simply refuses to tap. He told me in an interview for the mag just last year that he thinks more fighters should be willing to sacrifice a limb or pass out in a fight with a win at stake. Hard-fucking-core.
The following fight is one of Dan’s best performances, and well worth a watch. Funnily enough, his victim, Hidetaka Monma, has also been signed by the UFC.
This is not a sob story. I’m not asking for sympathy, so don’t bother getting the violins out. I’m sat here at 3.14am, sleep deprived and nursing a very swollen and very, VERY sore ankle.
Just before the swelling really got underway
I sparred a little MMA earlier tonight, nothing major. Relatively light contact, lots of movement, that kind of thing. My opponent went for an outside trip takedown and some part of his foot or leg clashed with my ankle. It hurt a little but I carried on just fine. I noticed a little bruise right on the ball of the ankle, so put some ice on it while I watched an awesome wrestling class (suplexes, love ‘em). Later during dinner I mentioned my ankle was a little sore (little being the operative word here, little). He said he felt the clash, but didn’t know what it was. Fine I told him, it was fine.
I got home tonight and got down to some work (had to call America, the time difference is always a bitch). I’m sat at my desk, rubbing cooling gel on my foot while keeping it elevated. This last hour or two, it has gotten very sore. Sore to the point where I’m actually moaning out loud with pain (well, swearing actually. I’m not quite combination swearing just yet, if that comes later you’ll know it’s bad).
No, my feet are NOT supposed to be different colours. That’s no trick of the light either
So I’m sat here with a bag of frozen vegetables on my foot, cursing the day I ever took up MMA. You see, I’ve lost count of the number of injuries I’ve sustained, from the niggly to the crippling, the annoying to the potentially long-term.
Let’s see, shall we?
So, not a bad haul for six or seven years (or more) on the mat. Nothing too serious I suppose (apart from one or two that require constant management). I’ve bypassed the annoying ones like cauliflower ears, broken noses and missing teeth (phew).
I do wonder what toll I’m taking on my body by engaging in an activity where utter destruction of your opponent’s own body is not just encouraged, but expected.
Maybe I should move away from physical pursuits and treat my body as nothing more than a vehicle for my brain. It can take me here, there and everywhere, but why should I bump it off every other vehicle on the road of life?
Because I’d go mental if I didn’t, that’s why. So, as ever, I’ll have a little moan, suck it up and move the fuck on.
Namasté, bitches.
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