Tiro Luta Invitational
The growth of MMA in the UK is spreading rapidly and so is the number of tournaments.
The Tiro Luta Academy held an invitational competition on Sunday 21st April at the Middleton Sports Centre near Leeds. The fights were five minutes duration, each fighter starting with five points; points were lost if the fighters were cleanly thrown or if they reached for the red safety zone when their opponent had them in a submission hold, similar to a rope escape. All the usual throws and strikes were allowed apart from face strikes together with submissions on the ground. As this was an invitational event, fighters only had one fight in their weight group; unfortunately due to injuries and such like, competitors where thin on the ground; however the show must go on and the fighters present had their one fight and then fought off for eventual tournament winner. After the end of the tournament, the fighters stayed on the mats and rolled with one another; special credits go to Mark Hallam and Ismael Tahire, two complete novices who only found they were fighting days before and put up a valiant performance on the day. If MMA and the like are to succeed and flourish outside London, a concerted effort is needed from everyone involved; phone other clubs and invite them down; cast aside petty indifferences that creep into this sport of ours, otherwise there will be nowhere for people to test themselves on a regular basis. Full credits go out to the organisers Chris Collins and Ian Leach for hosting the event and I am sure their next tournament will be a success.
For further details about the Tiro Luta Academy contact Chris or Ian on 07976 304095, 07973 825929 or by e-mail on ianleach@tiroluta.co.uk, chriscollins@tiroluta.co.uk and check out the website www.tiroluta.co.uk. - also featured in the SFUK Club Directory.
Results
Carl Fisher (Phoenix Gym) beat Stephen Winstanley (Tiro Luta) arm bar 2:44
Mark Spencer (Anaconda) beat Mark Hallam (Tiro Luta) arm bar 1:20
Stephen Winstanley beat Mark Hallam Achilles tendon hold .29 seconds for third place
Mark Spencer beat Carl Fisher front choke in mount 2:18 for first place
Mark Hallam beat Ismael Tahire keylock 3:36
Written by Carl Fisher – "The European voice of MMA news"