Mixed Martial Arts: Wimp 2 Warrior Final is a major success

Date published: 25 March 2018

The Wimp 2 Warrior Manchester final took place on Saturday (March 24), as Oldham Leisure Centre played host to the supportive families and friends of the contestants from the host town, Rochdale and Huddersfield.

The final, which amateur contestants trained to compete in for six months at Full Contact Performance Centre in Rochdale, had over 1,000 attendees.

 

 

Martin Stapleton with coaches, commentators and officials

 

Before his fight, Greg Egan, who alone sold over 100 tickets to family and friends, said: “I am still trying to take it all in as I have never done anything like this before, but I think I am ready.

“I have got a lot of people coming to watch so I want to do them proud as I have found this hard and think I have come really far over these six months. The hardest thing for me was losing the weight and sticking to the diet plan but I have been really motivated to get ready for this.

“Everything we have worked for comes down to this moment and I can’t wait.”

 

Greg Egan

 

Danny Saker

 

Michelle Loveday pre-match, whose fight was an exhibition contest, meaning two three-minute rounds showing their skillset but there is no winner, said: “I have been really calm and keeping it together but I am starting to feel the nerves now.

“I am a bit more worried because I don’t know my contestant and I know she has had a few fights before so I feel like she will have something to prove, but I am ready for it.

“I do not think it is so much about the fight now, it is about this process we have all completed that is life changing. I am going to give it 100%.”

 

Michelle Loveday and Charlie Burke

 

Exhibition contests were put in place as the female contestants could not be matched to one another.

Some of the male fighters who competed were also brought in from other gyms to equal out the categories.

Andy Pearson, who was fighting friend and fellow trainee at Full Contact Performance Liam Jennings, also said: “I am not worried, I am just enjoying this calm before the storm. Everyone is in for a good show tonight as a lot of effort has been put into this final moment.”

 

Andy Pearson

 

Liam Jennings

 

Martin Stapleton welcomed the crowd before the fights got off to a gruelling start, as Carl Crook from Full Contact powered his way to a win with a fast-paced sequence of punches to his opponent’s face.

The second fight also took a bloody turn as Michael Stewart, owner of the Norden Arms, who has lost four stone from the process, hit his opponent in the face causing a nose bleed.

 

Michael Stewart

 

Paul Mackie and Tom Speat

 

Tom Speat and Paul Mackie had to forget about knowing each other and focus on winning the fight. Tom won in just 36 seconds into the first round.

Haroon Mohammed, who was brought in from outside the Wimp 2 Warrior programme but trains at Full Contact.  Wimp 2 Warrior trainee Jack Threlfall struggled when Mohammed took him and ultimately won.

 

Haroon Mohammed

 

Jack Threfall

 

Greg Egan lost to Danny Saker after three rounds of close fighting. The commentator said: “I think we can all agree this has been the best fight of the night so far.”

As the night drew to a close at 11.30pm, Martin Stapleton said: “Honestly, I think that was an amazing fight night.

“It has been a pretty difficult day trying to get it all set up and organised and getting all the people here at the correct times but for me, it surpassed everything I thought it was going to be.

“I am so proud of all the fighters and I cannot thank the people of Rochdale enough and Oldham and Huddersfield.

“There was over one thousand people here in the end tonight. They were one of the loudest crowds I have ever seen at an amateur MMA show in years so I am very happy.

“About three times I got to the end of a fight and said ‘that was the fight of the night’ but I could not say I had a favourite fight. Obviously, if I was going to pick one that I was most hyped about it would be Trent Simm’s fight because his opponent was not from our gym and I have watched Trent grow up since he was a kid, so I was a bit more nervous about his.

“To see him come out and finish the other guy in under a minute was just amazing.”

 

Fight order and winners

Fight 1 - Carl Crook v Aaron Jones – Winner Carl Crook, 1 minute 49 seconds into Round 1

 

Aaron Jones

 

Fight 2 - Michael Stewart v Brent Donohue – Winner Michael Stewart, 1 minute 22 seconds into Round 1

Fight 3 - Carlton McIntosh v Mike Magowan – Winner Carlton McIntosh, 47 seconds into Round 1

 

Carlton McIntosh

 

Mike Magowan and Carlton McIntosh

 

Fight 4 - Charlie Burke v Michelle Loveday – Exhibition contest

Fight 5 - Tom Speat v Paul Mackie – Winner Tom Speat, 36 seconds into Round 1

Fight 6 - Jack Threlfall v Haroon Mohammed – Winner Haroon Mohammed, 1 minute 25 seconds into Round 1

Fight 7 - Charlotte Brown v Nina Brookes – Exhibition contest

 

Charlotte Brown

 

Nina Brookes and Charlotte Brown

 

Fight 8 - Greg Egan v Danny Saker – Winner Danny Saker, Unanimous decision from judges after Round 3

Fight 9 - Liam Jennings v Andy Pearson – Winner Liam Jennings, Unanimous decision from judges after Round 2

Fight 10 - Dean Kelly v Jimmy Murphy – Winner Dean Kelly, 2 minutes 36 seconds into Round 2

Fight 11 - Trent Simm v Mateusz Gurczynski – Winner Trent Simm, 17 seconds into Round 1

 

Trent Simm

 

Fight 12 - Adam Stewart v Zohaib Khan – Winner Adam Stewart, 44 seconds into Round 3

 

Adam Stewart

 

Zohaib Khan

 

Zohaib Khan and Adam Stewart

 

Wimp 2 Warrior is a programme for people who have had no experience in martial arts to train over a six-month period as a beginner.This training enables the competitors to reach a point where they are physically, mentally and technically prepared to step into a cage and participate in an amateur cage fight in front of thousands of people.

For more information or to sign up for the next season of Wimp 2 Warrior in October 2018 visit:

https://www.fullcontactperformance.co.uk/wimp-2-warrior 

 

Wimp 2 Warrior final
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