Rosi Sexton, media darling

Sometimes I get a bit blasé about the fact I share the mat at Straight Blast Gym Manchester with a bona fide celebrity like Rosi.

Rosi isn’t just a training partner though - she’s a good friend and a colleague, so I do sometimes take for granted the fact she is a rather exceptional person.

She’s intelligent (when she’s in the mood, fiercely so). She’s talented (you don’t win fights against world class opposition by pure luck). She’s a very generous person (my neck would probably consist of ground-up bits of leftover vertebrae without the many free sessions of osteopathy she has kindly given me) and recently, she’s been the centre of attention for British and international press.

Believe it or not, the multi-talented Ms Sexton is actually quite shy, although you might not think it from her many TV and radio appearances (everything from Richard and Judy to independent documentaries). She’s becoming quite the professional - it’s a shame I can’t find the Richard and Judy piece online, although there is this following two-minute segment from a local TV station here in Manchester. Enjoy.

Head kick

An oldie, but a goodie. From 2005

Flying knee

UFC 85 post-event thoughts

• Every UFC event should have a Mexican wave.
• A UFC doesn’t have to have a title on the line for it to be a good event.
• The standard of catering backstage was high, but no tea or coffee?  WTF?
• Never lose (or have stolen) your media pass at a UFC event, it is hell. I felt like my identity had been stripped from me.
• Watching Matt Hughes get KO’d live and in person is a magical experience.
• Swearing in a post-fight interview is not big and it is not clever, but it is totally fine in my book.  Fucking ay.

The worm (re)turns

Image credit: Sarah Mae (That’s not me in the pic by the way)

Bastard. I’ve got ringworm. Ah well - it’s part and parcel of sharing your personal space with dirty sweaty people I guess…

There’s something about Melvin

The vicious fists of the awesome Melvin Manhoef

The first time I saw Melvin Manhoef in action was back in February 2005 on Cage Rage 10. I had heard of him only by reputation, knowing he was, like many Dutch fighters, a great kickboxer. No-one was really prepared for what we saw though. Manhoef’s explosiveness is well known nowadays, with his appearances in K-1 HERO’s and DREAM.

Hype is (mostly) pointless

I was reading one of the major MMA news websites the other day. It was prior to a fairly large event taking place, and a certain ‘news’ item concerned something relating to the event that could have been perceived as negative if judged on the facts alone.

The good ship Fighters Only

I’ve titled my blog and monthly column for Fighters Only ‘Notes from Ringside’ for obvious reasons. As you would expect, it’s where I spend quite a bit of time.

How to take photographs of fighters

There are a few easy rules worth remembering if you’re going to take photos of fighters. They are as follows:

Photos from Ringside

Jimmy asked me how I was doing with my photography last night at the Cage Warriors show. It’s something we always do between fights - chat shit and talk camera stuff.

“Getting any good shots mate?”

“Nope,” I said. “Fuck all.”

I wasn’t at the time, although things did get better later. The truth is that I was out of practice, and it took me a while to warm up again. Just like when you’ve had a lengthy period off the mat, it took some time for the cobwebs to disappear and for me to get into the rhythm of the fights.