The University of York MMA Club hosted their very first MMA Fighting Championship on Sunday evening. The Championship saw York’s contingent squaring up against fighters from Hull, Bradford, Nottingham, JMU and Cambridge.
The Roger Kirk Centre was the venue for the evening, with an octagon being set up for the fights. The turnout was impressive, with a sizeable crowd turning out to cheer on York’s fighters.
The first fight of the evening was an all-York affair, with Alexej Vrublevskis taking on James Lund. Both men looked nervous and the contest took until the second round to really get going. It was Vrublevskis who looked strong in the middle round, with both fighters finishing strong in round three. Vrublevskis took the fight by unanimous decision.
The next contest was another between two York fighters, with Marco Jones pitted against Dan Jones. The fight didn’t take long to heat up, with Marco shooting in for the takedown and looking the stronger on the ground. It was Dan who got the takedown in the second round but Marco managed to turn the tide and again looked dominant on the canvas in the third. Marco Jones took the fight by another unanimous decision.
The third fight of the evening saw Hull’s Brad Busevic take on York’s Areslene Lamani. Both fighters looked evenly matched throughout but it was Lamani’s aggression and superior fitness that told, he ran out winner by unanimous decision.
The next fight, the only women’s contest of the evening, pitted Hull’s Catherine Dixon against York’s Artemis Vergou. It was Vergou who came out swinging, shooting in for a big takedown in the first round. Dixon dealt with the pressure well and ended the round strongly. The second round saw the evening’s first submission, with Vergou impressively winning by armbar.
Next it was York’s Nick Charnley facing Bradford’s Robin Monaghan. The crowd were brought to life by the previous submission and they were given another one, with Monaghan looking impressive in forcing the tap out from Charnley, again by armbar.
The next fight was a quick affair with Joshua Hunt taking on Jordan Jepal. Hunt came out the blocks quickly and was far too strong for his opponent, winning in the first round by armbar.
York’s Filip Preoteasa was next up, taking on Connor Emmott from Hull. Emmott looked the more accomplished throughout, but his fight was put in jeopardy as he struck his opponent with an elbow, which were outlawed for this event. The referee allowed the fight to go on however, and Emmott ran out winner by unanimous decision.
York’s Dimitri Kyriakou then came up against Luke Bright, with both fighters looking evenly matched in the first round. Bright’s pedigree on the ground told in the second and third rounds and he was awarded the win by the judges.
The penultimate fight of the night was between two York competitors, Liam Hoban and Joe Butterfield. Unlike the other contests of the evening, this was a Thai boxing encounter. Hoban looked to have a big reach and weight advantage over Butterfield and he was the dominant force throughout, again awarded the fight by unanimous decision.
The final fight saw York’s Matthew Bird come up against Hull’s Trent Baxendine. It was Baxendine who looked the most pumped for the fight and his aggression told. He set the tone with a huge takedown in the first before running out winner by guillotine choke in the second round.
Overall it was a fantastic, well-organised event that was enjoyed by all in attendance and will hopefully be the first of many hosted at the university.