James has surmised that Pudz may have been too scared to show due to the presence of the Collossus but it seems that the promotion that were holding the fight failed to meet the terms that Mariusz and his team had agreed to and as such he pulled out.

@fullmountmma

As BAMMA nears its tweens with its 11th show they continue to break new ground in UK MMA with their 11h show being broadcast live on Channel 5. The return of UK MMA's most famous fighter, Alex Reid, to the cage should draw a wide audience of people from fight fans to celeb watchers which can only be a good thing for the growth of the sport in the UK.

Running from 23:00 hours to 00:15 hours, the Saturday night broadcast features Alex Reid vs. Sam Boo live and marks the first time that Mixed
Martial Arts is aired live on Channel 5. The programme also includes Foupa – Pokem vs. Marshman, which, if you've ever seen Marshman fight you know will be an epic battle, plus taped highlights from earlier in the night.



BAMMA’s director David Green said:



“We are thrilled to see BAMMA 11 going out live on Five and 1st December marks a really big moment for us.  The official figures released from Channel 5 following the BAMMA 10 taped broadcast showed audiences peaking at 275, 000.  Going live on Five is a big step up for BAMMA but a challenge that we feel confident and excited about and we look forward to the opportunity of taking MMA to a broader Saturday night audience.”



Internationally BAMMA 11, presented by Go Daddy.com, will be shown on AXS-TV (US), The Fight Network (Canada), Red Media (RUSSIA), TV Esporte Interativo (Brazil), Setana (Africa) and TDN (Latin America).





*Buy tickets here: **http://bit.ly/iKuapN* <http://bit.ly/iKuapN>**

@fullmountcraig

If you’re a UK MMA fan, especially if you’re Scottish you’ll not have failed to notice the strides Vision FC has made of late as the former SFC merged with its Swedish Vision counterparts to create the Vision Fighting championships and put on some of the best cards we’ve seen in the UK and Sweden. Further to that aspect they’ve branched out into their new “Fight Night” cards to give up and coming fighters a chance to show what they can do and after their successful grappling competition at the Scotfit Expo they’re now giving all levels of grapplers a major competition of their own.

With this competition adding a Gi category to the already established No Gi category it promises to be a huge event for Scotlands grapplers and with Cage Warriors being in town the same weekend it promises to draw competitors from all around. Top get the low down on how to enter, what category to enter, rules and whether the competition is open to all forms of grappler we caught up with Vision FC co owner Chris Crowe and the competition organisers Rob McCrum and Kieran Malone.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us guys, this competition is shaping up to be brilliant event so could you tell us when it is and where is it being held?

Hi Craig, is on December 8th - KelvinHall Sports Arena - The main arena in Glasgow for MMA, both Vision and On Top have both had shows there. Also it is at the same venue and day as the Cagewarriors show coming to Glasgow.

Exciting stuff and a world renowned arena with a lot of history for all combat sports, where should those wanting to compete go to enter and will entries be allowed on the day?

There’s a direct link here! http://vision_grappling-eorg.eventbrite.com/

Entries will be allowed on the day - however - if people sign up in advance they are getting much better value, it allows us to gauge the numbers, do the brackets - and get things in order before the event day! Unlike some other events however we will allow people to sign up on the day.( It will cost you a little extra premium however-  so sign up in advance!)

Presumably non competing  spectators will be welcome at the event to add to and enjoy  the atmosphere that comes with all Vision events, how much will it cost them?

Yeah spectators are more than welcome, it will be £5 entry for them, there will be some great grappling on display so it's well worth heading down

Now down to the nitty gritty, what will be the weight categories for the event and what will be the weigh in rules? Will they be on the same day as the competition or the night before?

All weight categories are as follows, weigh ins will be first thing in th morning without the GI. This covers both GI and NoGi divisions (you only weigh in once)

Weight Classes;

U57kg

U62Kg

U67kg

U73kg

U79kg

U85kg

U91kg

U97kg

+97kg

Beginner (under 1 year exp) Intermediate (1-3 years exp) Advanced (3 year + exp)

Vision NoGi Rules

5 min rounds.

In the event of a draw the referee will decide the winner, finals will have 2 mins overtime. If still a draw, first person to score wins.

Points are awarded as follows;

2 - Takedown

2 - Passing the Guard

2 - Sweep

4 - Mount

4 - Back Take (2 hooks in)

1 - Advantage point for close sweeps, passes and sub attempts.

All positions must be established for a minimum of 3 seconds for points to be awarded.

When Changing positions points will be given in accending order.*

ie, no points will be given if moving to side control from mount.

Reversals are NOT considered sweeps. Sweeps must start from a guard position.

GI Rules;

IBJJF rules, belts, times etc for the GI with a slight variation on the weights as we will only weigh people in on the morning using the NoGi weights.

As we’ve seen with Vision expanding all the time how important do you see these grappling competitions being to the growth of your organisation?

Definitely - very important, we are always looking for the talent of the future - plus it gives guys an opportunity to feel out future opponents and identify weakness, or skills they possibly never recognised! Adds to the buildup for matching fights, especially with Rob being so close to the comps to oversee them, it means he can keep a beady eye on all levels, and for future matches!

As we all know grappling is an integral part of MMA, especially BJJ and we can be sure the huge BJJ community in Scotland and beyond will be well represented, should grapplers from other disciplines, Judo, Sambo etc. consider entering?

Definitely - NO GI and GI grappling, encompass and crosses over into many aspects of Wrestling, Sambo, and Judo - so we would actively encourage competitors from all different disciplines to come down and show their skill sets. Furthermore it may lead to people actually appreciating their skillsets, and looking to cross these over to other disciplines. Even for people who may not think they want to compete they should come down and see for themselves! We normally have guys from all kinds of martial arts entering.

With there being Gi and No Gi categories this time around what will the categories be within them? Will it be belts for the Gi's and novice intermediate etc for the No Gi guys or something different?

Standard GI Divisions will be separated according to IBJJF rules, and NO GI will be the same as all VISION NO GI comps to date - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced divisions! -

If there are people who enter from a Judo or Sambo background what categories should they enter were they to have black belts, brown belts, blue, green, orange, yellow and white belts? As a Judoka myself it's something I've often wondered and I know it confuses a lot of us.

A Judo Black Belt would require to enter at the Blue Belt division as per IBJJF rules. If you are not ranked in BJJ then you are generally a white belt

For the NO GI,  its years spent training in ANY grappling art, we want the divisions to be as fair as possible and not have anyone out of their depth or in too easy a division for them!

Interestingly there has been mention of a league format which is a great idea, can you explain the format?

This is for the Vision NoGi, points will be given to winners, and second and third places. At the end of the year the guys with the most points will be crowned the winner and be awarded prizes as well as being crowned Champion. We hope this will give the comp an added edge and something for the guys to keep returning to the comps for.

The last Vision expo and grappling event was a huge success, how big are you expecting this one to be?

We hope it will be the biggest yet, guys are getting the opportunity to compete in 2 comps in one day. With the option to attend a top level MMA show in the evening, if you're into combat sports you can't get much better than that!


Putting on something like this must be a lot of hard work, what makes it all worthwhile for you?

Starting off doing small comps in a local judo hall and taking it to another level is very satisfying, its great to help the sport evolve in Scotland and hopefully we will be able to take the comps further afield in the future. Its also a great promotional tool for the Vision brand at a grassroots level.

@fullmountcraig

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Co headlining will be Tim Boetsch versus Chris Weidman in what is being billed as a title eliminator. Recent Anderson Silva victim Chael Sonnen will be moving up to the 205 division to take on Forrest Griffin he once called "unathletic", which given Chaels usual trash talk is almost a compliment.

@fullmountcraig

A wise man; I believe his name was @TheRealAdil (the ‘@’ being silent), once said that if you can’t convince someone of your point of view in five simple points, you never will. So he created a concept known as a High Five: a means by which to convey those five simple points about any argument he so wished.

One argument, five points – this is a High Five for Full Mount MMA readers to ponder.

I hereby submit:

Five Reasons Why Dana White Should Step Down as UFC President

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In this video Andy shares his favourite combination with Myprotein.com and demonstrates how he uses this to his advantage when fighting.

]]> scottsandlan_2000@yahoo.co.uk (Administrator) Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:21:12 GMT http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/multimedia/3452-andy-ogle-demonstrates-his-favourite-combination http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/multimedia/3451-andy-ogle-professional-mma-fighter-demonstrates-the-takedown

Andy Ogle, professional MMA fighter shares his takedown tips with Myprotein.

]]> scottsandlan_2000@yahoo.co.uk (Administrator) Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:19:33 GMT http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/multimedia/3451-andy-ogle-professional-mma-fighter-demonstrates-the-takedown http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/multimedia/3450-andy-ogle-professional-mma-fighter-leg-kick

Andy gives Myprotein a 1-1 tutorial on using the inside leg kick (for the stalker brawler)

]]> scottsandlan_2000@yahoo.co.uk (Administrator) Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:17:17 GMT http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/multimedia/3450-andy-ogle-professional-mma-fighter-leg-kick http://www.fullmount.co.uk/index.php/mma-news/1-latest-news/3449-at-least-jon-joness-brothers-will-be-competing-this-september Last week the MMA world was sent into a frenzy following Jon Jones’s refusal to fight an alternative opponent at short notice following Dan Henderson’s withdrawal from UFC 151 due to injury.

Read more...

Andy Ogle Interview

Andy Ogle, if that's a name you don't recognise, then first, shame on you, second, don't worry about it as you'll be hearing a lot more about him when he makes his full UFC debut on UFC on Fuel TV 5 on September 29th. An alumni of TUF: Live he reached the semi finals as a member of Uriah Faber's team and gained an impressive victory in the quarter final when he submitted the heavily fancied Mike Rio with a rear naked choke. Now with the backing of the UK's top sports supplement company, Myprotein, he is set to take the UFC featherweight division by storm. Ross Edgely caught up with Andy to get the low down on what it takes to reach the UFC and what he thinks it's going to tke to be a success once you're there.

MMA found me. As a young boy I started kickboxing to protect myself. I loved it and got hooked straight away. I then started judo because I was seeking more competition. My friend then told me his mate had found a MMA gym and I should give it a go. I went along to try it out and the rest is history.

You’ve trained all over the world but where do feel you’ve learnt the most and why?

Kaobon is the best gym I have trained at hands down. When you're having a bad day these guys can sense it. They are like predators and are relentless. But when they are having a bad day you make sure to return the favour. At kaobon nobody is above the rest. When I left the TUF show it didn't matter at the gym. I was still just Andy. When Evander Holyfield came into our gym training didn't stop. Nobody is the big dog because everybody in the gym is aiming to be the top dog. This place is the best....fact!

Training every day at such a high intensity must take its toll, how do you keep fresh and ready for the next day of training?

Fitness is sport specific. I never run. My joints take a lot of strain through the high demand in competitive rounds in all areas of MMA. I gain my fitness through competition during training, pads and my strength and conditioning.

Can you explain a week’s typical training session?

Monday: Grapple (morning), stand up and pad work (night)
Tuesday: Spar/ drill (morning), grapple (night)
Wednesday: Grapple (morning), stand up/pad work (night)
Thursday: Spar/drill (morning), grapple (night)
Friday: Grapple (morning), run (night)
Saturday: Strength and conditioning
Sunday: Rest Day

MMA and the UFC® are growing rapidly, but there are still doubters who think the sport is too dangerous, what do you say to those people?

I believe MMA is less dangerous than football. MMA competitors know that if we switch off that we can get hurt. There is always a perceived risk of danger whereas in football the players regularly get tackled and blindsided, which results in injury a lot of the time.

If you could fight anyone in the world who would it be?

I think the average man tries his hardest to not get into a fight. If he did have to fight he would pick the easiest fight out there. I just want the fights that are going to teach me the most about myself and let me develop along the way.

You keep a very lean and muscular physique all year round and obviously have to make weight for your fights, any tips for those looking to cut weight?

My best tip for dieting is figure out what works for you. I have found that fish helps me keep slimmer than eating chicken, beef and lamb. Everybody is different. Find what works for you. Also if you do want to have a little treat make a day for it. It tastes so much sweeter when you make a day for it in the week/month. Chocolate isn't good for you every day. It tastes so much sweeter when it’s well deserved.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

The high of my career so far was definitely getting into the house.  It’s the start of something great and marks the beginning of my long and successful career in the big league.

What are your goals in the sport?

My goal is to keep on improving and tackle the obstacles that the UFC put in front of me.

You’ve recently been signed to sports nutrition company Myprotein.com and we hear you’ve got a favourite product of theres that you order by the kg?

Yip most definitely there Almond Butter, it tastes amazing and I love to put it on rice cakes with raspberry jam....oh my god! Good source of healthy fats and very nutrient dense so even good when cutting.

Any other products you use from Myprotein.com?

Yip love ZMA (Zinc and Magnesium) since it helps my recovery and I get the best night’s sleep on it. Of course their multi vitamin Alpha Men to make sure I’m getting all the vitamins and minerals I need. Glucosamine to help the constant pounding my joints take and also I’ve been experimenting with their pre-workout formula Pulse in training which helps give me a boost if I’m low before a tough session.

What would you say gives you the edge over your opponents?

My edge over my opponents is my drive and determination. I love MMA so much. I love it so much it hurts. I am determined to succeed in the UFC and I won't let anyone get in my way.

Are you doing anything different in your training or nutrition now?

I think the main difference in my training has come from reading a Mike Tyson article before my fight camp. I remember reading that when he was a young athlete growing up he was told to "pretend to love the things you hate". I now do this with everything. I think it has helped me be even more driven.

What’s going to be your ‘walk out’ music and why?

I usually come out to Marvin Gaye featuring Tammy Terrel – ‘Ain't No Mountain High Enough’. It makes me think of when my brother sang that song crying himself to sleep when I was five and my dad was going back to work. He works for the merchant navy and works away for a long time. I remember this one time he was home and he sang that song a lot. It just makes me remember the simpler times and my dad. Sometimes he can't be at my fights because of work. He can be at Nottingham so maybe for my debut I should start a fresh with something new. We shall see.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

My advice for starters is that drillers make killers. But to drill something until it is spot on takes a long, long time, which means it must be fun. If you are not having fun you will not last long. So remember that if you love it you'll train a lot and the skills will come naturally.

Can you explain a week’s typical nutritional routine?

Nutritional routine can be tough. I try to listen to my body more than anything. When competition nears I don't usually weigh myself too much. I can tell what weight I am by shading and markings on my body.  As long as I feel good for training and my diet is clean I am happy. I do however cheat every tenth day. I feel cheating on the seventh is too short and in three weeks you have three cheats whereas I have 2 in three weeks, which makes me feel happier.

Any favourite dishes?

Aside from Myprotein.com Almond Butter, lol, my favourite food when dieting is peppered mackerel and home-made sweet potato chips....healthy fish and chips. On a cheat day my tastes always change from one fight camp to another. This fight camp I would say I'm in love with almond butter and raspberry jam sandwiches or on rice cakes. I also love chocolate coated Brazil nuts.

Lastly can you talk us through how you prepare for a fight on the day? E.g. do you like to stay calm and listen to music or do you like to get fired up? Any tips, music choices, meal plans…etc?

On the day of the fight I just try to wake as late as possible and have fun. The hard work has been done already. What will happen will happen. Getting nervous uses energy and is pointless. The fight will happen whether you are nervous or not. Enjoy yourself.

Andy Ogle is fuelled by www.myprotein.com , the UK’s number one online sports nutrition brand and supplier to many of Britain’s best athletes such as World 400m Champion Dai Greene, World 100m backstroke World Record Holder Gemma Spofforth, Olympic Taekwondo Gold Medallist Jade Jones and 11-time Paralympic gold medallist David Roberts.

@ufcjohnhathaway I'm there 100% and I'm feeling the call of the cage, so will defo c u soon. Just go easy on the old timer please stud

Hathaway is of course an outstanding prospect in the UFC but to beat former UCMMA champion John Maguire he will have to be at the top of his game in what is sure to be one of the fights of the year between two of the UK's best fighters.

Still, if the fighting doesn't work out for John it seems Reid has a place for him in his new band!

@ufcjohnhathaway haha,gotta place in my band 4u wen ur ready! Im a bit of a civilian these days. My super powers still there tho,.. Waiting!

@fullmountcraig

This Saturday night, UFC 150 from the Pepsi Centre in Denver sees “Smooth” Benson Henderson defend his UFC lightweight championship belt against Frankie Edgar, the former title holder and the man he defeated to take the title some six months ago in Japan at UFC 144.

Frankie Edgar is the proverbial “fighter with a lot of heart”. The “lil’ guy” from New Jersey doesn’t know when to quit and if fights were judged on guts and bravery alone he would still hold the title.

He’s like the son Tony Soprano never had, (and yes I know Tony did actually have a son, but let’s be honest A.J. was a pussy and would never have gotten off the canvas following a Gray Maynard uppercut!) but if their first bout is anything to go by he may have come across a fighter in Henderson too big and too good for him to overcome.

In their previous bout Edgar took everything that Ben Henderson had to throw at him and kept coming.

The first two rounds were pretty even and Edgar caught many of Henderson’s kicks and replied by showering his opponent with counter punches.

Yet over time Henderson was able to use his size to his advantage to essentially beat the smaller man down.  Fightmetric.com shows that Henderson out landed the New Jerseyite in total strikes by 100 to 81 and in significant strikes 87 to 68.

Edgar was the more successful fighter in the ground game, converting 5 of 12 takedown attempts with "Bendo" converting his only attempt.

The significant strikes were the difference and looking at the fighter’s faces at the end of the bout there was clearly one winner.

‘Smooth’ Benson Henderson was still looking just so with hardly a mark on him and ready to go another round; Edgar not so much.

For all his bravado and determination Edgar’s face was busted up, his right eye nearly welded shut, his mouth a bloody mess.

Watching a re-run of the first fight this week it was interesting to hear Goldie and Rogan comment on the weight and size disparity between the two fighters with Goldberg suggesting that: “we might be watching a fight between a future welterweight and a future featherweight.”

A conservative estimate would suggest that Henderson outweighed Edgar by 30-40 pounds when they stepped into the Octagon for the first time and while Edgar has beaten fighter’s physically bigger than him before, notably BJ Penn and Gray Maynard, in Henderson he may have meet his match.

Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard

In the co-main event we have two former team-mates coming to meet each other in a bout that has knowledgeable fight fans predicting “Fight of the night” from the moment it was announced.

Cowboy Donald Cerrone meets his former Jackson’s camp teammate Melvin Guillard in another bout from the stacked UFC lightweight division.

Jackson fighter’s such as Carlos Conduit and Clay Guida have recently been criticised for supposedly negative tactics in big fights and for looking to win fights by point scoring. It is highly unlikely that either Cerrone or Guillard will be accused of that following this bout as both are known for their entertaining fights and both like to finish their opponents.

Cerrone was thought to be close to a title shot before his defeat to Nate Diaz at the turn of the year. He looked uncharacteristically tentative against Diaz although he did rebound with a unanimous three round victory against Jeremy Stephans in May.

The Cowboy will be looking to use this victory against his friend and former training partner to propel himself, as Dana White likes to say, “back in the mix” for a title shot in the deepest, most talented division in the UFC.

He is fighting a highly experienced and highly unpredictable fighter in Guillard. The dude is 29 years old and has had 43 pro fights!

The issue with Guillard is that you never know which fighter is going to show up. He has the ubiquitous “one-punch knockout power” so loved by fight commentators and fight fans alike.

This is evident by his “two knock out of the night” awards but he can also come to fights with what would appear to be a lack of focus.

When he fought Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 he came in smiling and dancing, giving fans high fives, playing to the crowd as he swaggered his way to the Octagon; he opened the bout with an audacious flying knee which left him open.

He got caught by Lauzon who clipped him and took him to the ground, where the Boston fighter choked him out within 42 seconds.

This was an important fight for Melvin as previous impressive victories and a victory would have solidified his ranking at the top of the division and opened up the possibility of a title shot.

Guillard should certainly be aware of the ground game of his opponent on Saturday night. Cowboy Cerrone has lethal BJJ with 13 of his 18 victories coming by way of submission.

While he only has one victory by knockout people should certainly not sleep on his striking abilities.

He is after all the former S-1 May Thai United States Champion and compiled a 28-0-1 record as a kickboxer.

He has won two Fight of the Night awards, a knockout of the night and a submission of the night during his time in the UFC, coupled with 5 of his 9 fights in W.E.C. being awarded Fight of the Night it is safe to say that the Cowboy won’t be looking to eke out a result this Saturday night, he comes to fight like a regulator (Young Guns not Warren G btw!).

Best of the Rest

Scrap Pack member and professional Ryan Reynolds impersonator Jake Shields looks to improve his UFC record to 3-2 with a victory over Ed Herman in the middleweight division.

Two recent Ultimate Fighter alumni fight on Saturday. Dennis Bermudez who fought on the Bisping vs. Miller season and was defeated in the final by Diego Brandao (aka Jose Aldo Jr, Jr) , will face Tommy Hayden on the undercard in the featherweight division.

The highly touted Justin Lawrence, who recently fought as a lightweight in the most recent season, the Ultimate Fighter Live will drop down to the featherweight division to face off against Max Holloway.

UFC 150: Henderson vs Edgar II will be on ESPN live at 3am, Sunday 12th August.

MMA may not be in the Olympics and mastery of any of the Olympic disciplines may not necessarily translate to a successful career in the cage, but there is an undoubted link between the Olympics and Mixed Martial Arts. Ronda Rousey won a Bronze medal in Judo for the USA at 70kg in the 2008 games and is now the face of women’s MMA. Daniel Cormier captained the US freestyle wrestling team in Beijing and is now one of the highest ranked heavyweight fighters in the world. Legends like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson were in their nation’s Greco-Roman wrestling team and current fighters like Satoshi Ishii (Gold, Judo, 2008,) Alexis Villa (Bronze, wrestling 1996), Sara McMann (Silver, wrestling, 2004) and Randi Miller (Bronze, wrestling, 2008) have tasted the Olympic podium before transitioning to the cage.

In the light of this and especially in the wake of Britain’s most successful Olympics of all time, I can’t help but think if any of Britain’s Olympic standouts might transition to the cage and lead British MMA into a new phase of legitimacy, success and growth. Of course, our medal-winning sailors, cyclists and dressage team probably wouldn’t be too interested in, or inclined towards a switch to the cage, but there are plenty combat sports at the Olympiad.

Boxing

While the sweet science has often been portrayed as MMA’s great nemesis, at least in terms of gaining the pay per view buys and mainstream acceptance as the #1 combat sport, boxing is a key part of the MMA fighter’s canon. If you lack a standup game, you will never be elite level and of the many striking disciplines, boxing is by far the most popular.

Sadly, I’m writing this before the medals are determined in the men’s boxing (I’m going on honeymoon on Sunday 12th, so I hope you’ll forgive me) but this year marked the first year that Women could compete in boxing at the Olympics and there was massive success from some British (in the geographical sense) girls.

First up Team GB’s Nicola Adams won gold in the Flyweight (51kg) division, swiftly followed by Ireland’s Katie Taylor winning gold in the Lightweight (60kg) division. Both girls are very experienced, at 29 and 26 years old respectively and as such might not want to convert to MMA this far into their careers, but if either could develop some takedown defence and/or a ground game, I’d LOVE to see them bringing some top notch boxing into the flyweight and bantamweight divisions of the Women’s game.

Judo

As I’ve said above, Ronda Rousey used the momentum from her bronze medal at 70kg in Beijing to catapult herself to the top of Women’s MMA. As a martial art which starts standing and ends on the ground, with the most important aspects being balance, presence of mind and technique, Judo is one of the most adaptable bases for an MMA career. What’s even better is that Team GB has TWO medalists who could cross over, both of them girls.

Gemma Gibbons won an emotional silver medal in the half-heavyweight 78kg class while Karina Bryant won a bronze medal in the 78kg+ weight class. Bryant may be too set in her ways at 33 to cross over, although Gibbons is well placed at 25 years old to make the switch. One problem both women may find is that Women’s MMA tends to max out at the featherweight division, and as both would likely need to compete at lightweight or above, they may simply be too big to find meaningful opposition, given the current limited nature of women’s MMA.

Taekwondo

Always one of the most stylish martial arts, many have said that Taekwondo isn’t practical for use in MMA, given its emphasis on spinning kicks and complete lack of takedowns. However, the attributes balance and quick reactions are never a bad thing and many top MMA fighters, including current UFC champions Benson Henderson and Georges St-Pierre are known to train in TKD and if that’s not evidence enough to justify the sport being talked about here, I don’t know what is.

As I’m writing this, I’ve just watched Wales’ Jade Jones become the first British woman to take a gold medal in TKD, defeating the double world champion Hu Yuzhuo in the process. At only 19 years of age, she’s got her whole career in front of her and weighing in at 57kg, she’s ideally placed to compete in the Flyweight or if she’s still got growing to do, Bantamweight divisions.

Wrestling

Broadly accepted as the best possible base for an MMA fighter, with it’s emphasis on controlling where the fight takes place, allowing you to smother an opponent to a super-dull decision or keep it standing where you’re standup may take effect or to the ground where you’re secondary BJJ skills can take over, wrestling has already shown itself to be the finest breeding ground for MMA standouts of the future.

Sadly, Britain didn’t post any medalists in the Greco-Roman wrestling and the freestyle is yet to be completed. I’m not expecting medals anyway, as our wrestling has long been far behind the rest of the world anyway and I’m less than impressed with the way we suddenly naturalised a bunch of Ukrainian wrestlers who had ostensibly been brought over to train our home grown talent. That’s just not cricket.

However, given my blond haired, blue eyed genetics and tendency to dedicate things to Odin, I’m plenty chuffed to see Sweden’s Jimmy Lidberg and Johan Euren snare bronze medals in the Greco-Roman wrestling at 96kg and 120kg respectively. At 30 and 27 years old, they’ve still got time to transition to the cage, and I’d happily see some Olympic gold round the necks of a competitor on a Vision FC card in the near future.

Sadly, I’ve had to write and post this before the freestyle wrestling, men’s boxing and taekwondo have wrapped up so it’s by no means a complete run down of the combat sports potential coming out of these games, but I ‘ve got a honeymoon to go on…

Of course, mastery of boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, judo or any other one discipline will never make you an elite level MMA fighter, but I’d love to see some crossover from the sheer amount of hype the Olympics have received, raising MMA’s profile and legitimacy in this country and having our beloved Olympic medalists competing in ‘cage fighting’ can only help.

Can you see any of our medal winners crossing over and making an impact? Do you think MMA should be in the Olympics? Failing that, and given that the next games are in Rio, should Brazilian Jiu-jitsu be included as an Olympic sport? I’d love to see that…

Slainte,

Chris Napier

Twitter: @chriscrowing

Disclaimer: This article consists of the opinion and thoughts of the author and as such should not be considered as the position of Full Mount MMA. This piece is intended to create debate, not to give offence to any fans, fighters or promoters.