News
Why do MMA fighters fight?
MMA is one the worlds most entertaining and dangerous sports. I can sit through an event and bask in the violence as the canvas gets painted a claret colour. However, on more than one occasion the same thought grinds away in my mind. Fighters put themselves through the weight cuts, not seeing or spending time with family and spend weeks or maybe even months to prepare when they run the risk of getting beat on for 15/25 minutes?
Besides the obvious money and the fame, A fighters life can be more complicated than that. There is always more than meets the eye and something unique that makes them tick! Finding what makes them tick is exactly what I want to find out. To do so, I had a chat with rising MMA talent Denzel Chibondo and Marina “No Mercy” Coffman.
Denzel is an amateur MMA fighter from Northampton England with a 3-2 record. He is someone I try to keep an eye on as his dedication to the sport and the amount of blood sweat and tears he puts into his training. Speaking with Denzel I asked, why do you fight, what does it do for you and how has it impacted your life so far?
“Umm good question sometimes I ask myself that. Honestly for me fighting has changed my life, my mindset everything. It seems like a really violent sport but it’s actually peaceful. Everytime I have a fight I always think to myself I really want to do that again. The whole thing the build up and the pressure I enjoy it. But I fight because I feel like if I train hard I can be up there with the best fighters around and it keeps my life in check.”
Now some people will take what they want from this, but what I have took was that Denzel wants to prove that you can actually get back what you put in. This isn’t just applicable to MMA, it’s to every sport, even your job and most importantly life itself, if you put the work in and you keep pushing, eventually you will reap the rewards and it will all be worth it with the sweet taste of success.
Next I spoke with Marina “No Mercy” Coffman, an MMA fighter from Toledo Ohio. Coffman has made the transition to bare-knuckle fighting so she seemed the perfect person to ask, as her desire to fight and fight often was so evident. When I asked her the same question as Denzel, this is what she had to say.
”I fight for me. I think alot of fighters fight for this and that but I fight for me and because I truly love it. Being a fighter and choosing to be a fighter isn’t easy or comfortable but that’s why I love it. You can’t find many things in life that challenge you the way fighting does. So many things in life are out of my control but when I fight everything makes sense. So honestly I do it for me because I love the violence.”
Well there you have it. Not everyone does it for the fame and/or money. Some people want to fight because it’s their tranquility and peaceful place. I would imagine there’s plenty more people like Marina who just love the violence and love the fact that when that cage door closes, it’s up to you and only you. For me this is an incredible show of heart, fighting solely because you desire to. Regardless of the paycheque or maybe even just for some media attention because for a lot of fighters, this is all they want and all they have.
Interviews
Smilla Sundell Recaps Training With Tawanchai & Stamp In Thailand
For a fighter to become the best, it helps to remain humble and focused. And if the opportunity to train with world-class athletes arises, they should grab it with both hands. Ahead of her return to ONE Championship next month, ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell has been doing all that.
The Swedish striker is set to return in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 on Saturday, 4th May, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, where she’ll defend her crown against Russian ruiner Natalia Diachkova.
Sundell has been dominant across four promotional outings. But she knows she’ll have her hands full with Diachkova, so she recently chose to take some tips from ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
“I did his seminar in Bangkok at PK Saenchai with my friend Matt. We went there and wanted to learn some new skills and see how he did seminars because I want to go to America after my fight to do seminars. I’ve done one now, and I like teaching, so it was fun,” Sundell said.
“There’s no competition in it. He’s like a cat playing with a rat. It’s too easy for him sometimes. He doesn’t even try.”
The strawweight Muay Thai queen sharpens her skills at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, alongside other world-class striking talents, like three-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
Stamp’s fun-loving nature has rubbed off on Sundell, but it’s her commitment to never backing down that has truly inspired the 19-year-old sensation.
“She’s always been a happy girl and trains hard every day. She’s basically the same funny girl. Still hungry (to get wins),” Sundell explained.
“I think I learned that you can achieve whatever you like as long as you put in the work. But I learned that from my parents, too. But maybe more practical, in a sense, because Stamp did it in martial arts.”
News
CW 171: Final Card & Broadcast Details
It’s fight week for Glasgow! Cage Warriors – Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation – heads to Scotland for the first time since 2013 with the stacked CW 171 card pitting the nation’s finest against elite opposition from the UK, Europe and beyond!
With the home nation represented in all six of the main card bouts, the atmosphere is set to be electric in the Braehead Arena as CW presents one of its biggest fight nights of all time.
In the main event, blistering KO artist Dumitru Girlean returns to face home favourite Chris ‘The Bad Guy’ Bungard in what is sure to be an electrifying lightweight contest.
Also featuring in high-stakes bouts are title hopefuls Reece McEwan and Aidan Stephen, who face UFC veteran Cameron Else and Italy’s Gianluca Scottoli respectively.
Elsewhere on the card, former title challenger Scott Malone is back in the famous yellow gloves, as he takes on surging contender Nicolas Leblond, while hot prospect Sean Clancy Jr looks to keep his unbeaten run alive against Lucas Rodriguez.
The final CW 171 card is as follows…
Cage Warriors 171: Glasgow | LIVE on UFC Fight Pass
Main Card – 12:30 (PT) | 15:30 (ET) | 20:30 (BST) | 21:30 (CEST)
Lightweight: Dumitru Girlean vs Chris Bungard
Bantamweight: Cameron Else vs Reece McEwan
Welterweight: Lucas Rodrigues vs Sean Clancy Jr
Bantamweight: Gianluca Scottoli vs Aidan Stephen
Flyweight: Nicolas Leblond vs Scott Malone
Bantamweight: Kaique Modesto vs Keir Harvie
Prelims – 08:30 (PT) | 11:30 (ET) | 16:30 (BST) | 17:30 (CEST)
Lightweight: Konstantinos Ntelis vs Jan Quaeyhaegens
Featherweight: Alberth Dias vs Paul McBain
Bantamweight: Jack Eglin vs Daan Duijs
Lightweight: Jordan Little vs Jordan Stronge
Welterweight: Wallison Henrique vs Carlo Pedersoli Jr
Light Heavyweight: Nell Ariano vs Jamie Macdonald
Catchweight (167lbs): Diego Dikson vs Ieuan Davies
Lightweight: Dec Dean vs Michael Blair
Flyweight: Ronal Siahaan vs Igor Wojtas
Featherweight: TBC vs Damon Donald
Bantamweight: Pav Sahota vs Iain Postlethwaite
Welterweight: Mush Aslani vs Khadim Dia
Featherweight: Cornellius Aritonang vs Thomas Hepburn
Cage Warriors 171: Glasgow will air live on UFC Fight Pass and international broadcast partners.
News
UFC 300 – Live Results | Pereira vs Hill
It’s fight day! The milestone event UFC 300 is finally upon us, bringing with it one of the strongest cards ever put together. In the main event, Alex Pereira will defend his light heavyweight belt against former titleholder Jamahal Hill.
For the full results as they happen, look no further!
Note: any point deductions will be denoted with an asterisk and explained at the bottom of the page.
***
Main card (3am GMT+1 – TNT Sports)
(c) Alex Pereira vs (#1) Jamahal Hill – UFC light heavyweight championship bout
(c) Zhang Weili vs (#1) Yan Xiaonan – UFC strawweight championship bout
(c) Justin Gaethje vs (#2 – FTW) Max Holloway – UFC BMF championship bout
(#1) Charles Oliveira vs (#4) Arman Tsarukyan – lightweight title eliminator
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage – middleweight bout
Prelims (1am GMT+1 – TNT Sports/UFC Fight Pass)
(#2) Jiri Procházka vs (#5) Aleksandar Rakic – light heavyweight bout
(#7) Calvin Kattar vs (#1 – BW) Aljamain Sterling – featherweight bout
(#5) Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison – bantamweight bout
(#13) Sodiq Yusuff vs Diego Lopes – featherweight bout
Early prelims (11pm GMT+1 – UFC Fight Pass)
(#10) Jalin Turner vs (#13) Renato Moicano – lightweight bout
(#4) Jessica Andrade vs (#6) Marina Rodriguez – strawweight bout
(#14) Bobby Green vs Jim Miller – lightweight bout
(#8) Deiveson Figueiredo vs Cody Garbrandt – bantamweight bout
***
For more UFC 300 content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.
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