The 2nd UMA UK No Gi Groundfighting Championships for 2008 got of to a fantastic start, with no less than 28 Clubs and nearly 130 Fighters attending the New Bigger Venue at Belvedere Park, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, England, with the likes of Judo, Sambo, Jujitsu, BJJ, MMA, Grappling etc, stepping up to represent, the day was a fantastic success, so I shall leave the report in the capable hand of Chief Senior Officer and U.M.A. Press Officer Carl Fisher to tell you all about the Championships.
The 2nd UMA UK No Gi Groundfighting Championships for 2008 got of to a fantastic start, with no less than 28 Clubs and nearly 130 Fighters attending the New Bigger Venue at Belvedere Park, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, England, with the likes of Judo, Sambo, Jujitsu, BJJ, MMA, Grappling etc, stepping up to represent, the day was a fantastic success, so I shall leave the report in the capable hand of Chief Senior Officer and U.M.A. Press Officer Carl Fisher to tell you all about the Championships.
Due to the growing popularity of the UMA Events from last year, a bigger venue has now been secured for the rest of the year at the Belvedere Park in Burton Upon Trent. The venue has two mats on the go and plenty of seating both on the ground and on the balconies, providing spectators with great views for all the matches.
That said, I was witness to some seriously talented grapplers showcasing excellent skills and fast clinical submissions, the fastest coming in only five seconds from Leicester Shootfighter’s Benedikt Scohtthoefer
The event proved so popular that entries were still coming in ten minutes before the midnight deadline in the middle of the week; in total twenty eight clubs entered the event, a brilliant mixture of traditional martial arts clubs stepping up to compete against grapplers from the BJJ and MMA communities. This is what the UMA events are all about, opening the events up to all martial arts clubs, regardless of style and this made for some very exciting match ups on the mats.
The juniors kicked the day off with some very talented young warriors on the mats, giving it their all and with the Masters division following suit, it was straight into the action with the seniors; four brackets were packed to the maximum of sixteen entrants and ended up with single elimination bouts so everything was at stake in every match.
Yours truly had the unenviable task of refereeing all through the day, a thankless job at best, but if there are no referees then there would be no competitions! Having trained with many of the clubs who attended, whenever it came to a decision, I really felt for the losers and hope the guys didn’t call me too many bad names! In future, please tap your opponent out and make the referee’s job a whole lot easier!
That said, I was witness to some seriously talented grapplers showcasing excellent skills and fast clinical submissions, the fastest coming in only five seconds from Leicester Shootfighter’s Benedikt Scohtthoefer; Leicester Shoot had another successful day out taking medals in six of the weight divisions.
Blackledge MMA came out in force with Theo Blackledge, younger brother of Tom Blackledge, tearing through the -80K division, look out for more from this talented athlete in the future.
Atherton Submission Fighters came out in force, with heavyweight Rob Broughton winning the +100K division and coming second in the Absolute division, displaying great cardio and fast movement that belies his 130K frame, as well as great sportsmanship.
Ana Mayne from SBG tore up the women’s category, with some great ground skills and swift transitions into submissions on her way to winning the gold medal.
Combat Base UK stepped up and laid it on the line with Rob Lawlor taking silver in the -70K and Mark Richards with bronze in the -90K and Rogan Tonks taking silver in the -95K division; yours truly walked off with a gold medal in the Masters division and in team event, Combat Base fought some stiff opposition and came away with a bronze medal.
The level of the grapplers on the day was phenomenal and the level of sportsmanship was second to none, the winners humble in victory and the losers gracious in defeat.
From everyone at the UMA, we thank you all for supporting the event and hope we see you at future events in the year and also next year.
referees then there would be no competitions! Having trained with many of the clubs who attended, whenever it came to a decision, I really felt for the losers and hope the guys didn’t call me too many bad names! In future, please tap your opponent out and make the referee’s job a whole lot easier! 
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