March 7th was the first ever Oxford Vs Cambridge Mixed Martial Arts Varsity held under amateur rules (full contact, no shin guards, 7oz gloves, over 3 x 2 minute rounds no elbow or knee strikes to the head) at the Oxford Kassam Stadium.
With Cambridge having an established MMA club for 9 years, Oxford MMA could certainly have been considered the underdogs with only 18 months experience since the club was founded. However, Oxford’s striking was far superior on the day helped in part by Muay Thai coaching from Richard Ormiston-Rees and Josias Gomes and boxing from Kevin Boss from Science Fitness Studio Oxford. This alongside our BJJ coach’s (@Jameshalfhide) great ground game advice and defensive grappling work to keep Oxford on their feet, Oxford University Mixed Martial Arts - MMA made a clean sweep of wins. Below is brief fight report of each bout. Professional fight videos and photos to follow in due course.
Rhue Magor vs Ali Wang
Round 1 Rhue was straight off the mark making her damaging, accurate punches and low kicks really hit home. The fight went to the ground and Ali started to find her game plan but Rhue using her explosive power managed to get on top to mount and throw more damaging blows in a ground and pound that could have stopped it there. Ali was saved by the bell. Round 2 Rhue stuck to her game plan keeping on her feet and pressed forward throwing big low kicks and accurate punches all hitting the target. Ali struggled with the pressure and shortly into round 2 Ali was unable to continue with Rhue securing a TKO win for Oxford.
Oxford 1 Cambridge 0
George Dobson vs Umut Karakus
This fight was a real battle and both fighters showed real spirit, grit and determination. From the get go in round 1 George (Oxford) a southpaw with a background in Taekwondo used his devastating body kicks and head kicks to cause big damage and used his strength and base to stay on his feet when Umut wanted the ground. Umut didn’t give an inch though and gave George a real run for his money returning blows but ran out of steam in rounds 2 and 3. In the end George dominated the fight with his superior striking ability and forward pressure, staying calm and accurate to take Umut apart bit by bit. The fight went the distance but the winner was clear and Oxford took a unanimous decision on the judge’s scorecards.
Oxford 2 Cambridge 0
George Joseph Vs Will Wilkins
George had unfortunately been struck down by flu 3 weeks before his fight and there were questions regarding his fitness prior to the bout. George however was not in the mood for pulling out. Round 1, George, with a background in boxing used his range and accuracy to dominate the striking and sent in some big knees to the body of Will in the clinch exchanges. George also took a low blow which really took the steam out of him when momentum was building. Round 2 George continued to land effective damaging strikes but Will managed to take George to the ground and Cambridge were looking for their first win by submission. However Will made an illegal head-butt and was warned by the referee which gave George some breathing space. Round 3 George continued to strike well using his boxing ability to cut Will on the nose and George could have finished the bout on his feet but again the fight went to the ground and Will aimed to finish the fight with a ground and pound. George was struggling to hang on but Will’s punches just weren’t effective enough and the fight finished with Oxford surviving. In the end it was a close fight but with Georges dominating and damaging knees, kicks and punches the judges scored the fight to Oxford by way of unanimous decision. The team trophy was ours!
Oxford 3 Cambridge 0
Ryan Veryard Vs Toby Braje
Round 1 and Ryan and Toby started the fight quickly and both fighters went blow for blow throwing low kicks and punches. Ryan went in for a jumping front kick but miss judged the timing and both fighters went to the ground. With Toby aiming to mount, Ryan used his strength and skill to flip Toby and mount him for the ground and pound. Ryan exploded with heavy damaging punches to Toby’s face and Toby was unable and unwilling to fight back due to Ryan’s ferocity. The referee stepped in and the fight was stopped in the first minute of the first round with a TKO in Oxfords favor.
Oxford 4 Cambridge 0
Snapper Magor Elliott Vs Tom Cooney
Last fight of the night was always going to be explosive with President (Snapper) and Captain (Tom) of the clubs going toe to toe at 80kg. Snapper with the striking ability and Tom with the grappling experience this was always going to be a fight to remember. Round 1 unexpectedly Tom came out fast with heavy kick strikes and punches which caught Snapper off guard. Then, as expected Tom used his explosiveness to bring the fight to the ground and dominate Snapper in the grappling, looking for that submission and Cambridge’s consolation win. Snapper didn’t get much opportunity to use his striking and round 1 certainly was going Tom’s way. By round 2 Snapper worked his game plan and started to use his defensive ability to stay off the ground and really cause damage to Tom with effective punches and kicks. By the end of round 2 Snapper was back on top and Tom looked hurt. Round 3 Snapper continued to dominate with strikes pushing forward. The fight went to the ground again and Snapper managed mount Tom for the ground and pound. Tom was cut on the eye and looked hurt, he was struggling and the fight could have ended there but Tom escaped and the fight using his grappling skill. Snapper pushed right to the end looking for the finish but the bell went. Clear 2 rounds to Snapper and the final clean sweep of the night with another unanimous win for Oxford and a Cambridge whitewash.
Oxford 5 Cambridge 0
Performance of the night from the referee was given to Rhue Magor-Elliot but due to Varsity rules in relation to studying for Oxford the trophy was awarded to Will Wilkins for his fight against George Joseph Powell. A small consolation for Cambridge…
A massive respect to all the fighters from Cambridge and Oxford, coaches from both teams, supporters and promoter Kevin Boss for putting on the show. It takes a lot of dedication and courage to get in the ring and these fighters have really given their all. Big shout out to Snapper Magor Elliott who started Oxford MMA. Without you mate none of this could have come to fruition. A great result and let’s make it happen again next year! (Please tag anyone I may have forgotten).
