The Savannah MMA Report

Savannah, GA, Aug. 11, 2008 –

Local teenager, Max Barber of Effingham County Georgia, was victorious in a mixed martial arts event held on August 9th, 2008 in Mobile, Alabama. He faced Jeff White (also 16) in the 170 pound weight class in one of very few mixed martial arts events to allow youth mixed martial arts competition. Max won his fight by referee stoppage after a high roundhouse kick to his opponent’s head. Max’s opponent Jeff White was unable to continue and the referee awarded the Technical Knockout (TKO) victory to Max Barber at 1:14 of the Second Round.

Youth MMA is a new and experimental sport for teenagers and even pre-teen martial artists who compete with both striking and grappling techniques taking place in a match in which the objective is to make your opponent give up, or render them unable to continue with a knockout. Although there is a risk to younger fighters, both boxing and kickboxing matches are sanctioned for age 9 and above and grappling events are sanctioned in which 5 year olds and older are able to compete for position and even submission (Making your opponent give up due to pressure on a join or choke) based finishes. Missouri had previously been the only state to allow youth mixed martial arts, but Alabama joined this list on August 9th by allowing several teen matches to take place, including Max Barber’s match.

The youth rules were modified mixed martial arts rules including kickboxing style standing techniques and wrestling and jiu-jitsu grappling while on the ground. There was no striking whatsoever to a downed opponent and all athletes were required to wear protective headgear, gloves, mouth piece, athletic support, and shin padding. All matches were refereed by a professional and licensed official who stopped the matches before any serious injury could take place.

For official youth rules and regulations, visit: http://www.americanamma.org/jrdivisionpack.pdf

About Savannah MMA

Savannah MMA is a group of mixed martial arts fighters, trainers, coaches, and athletes that train and compete in Savannah, GA as well as abroad. Most competitions are located in the southeast and include mixed martial arts competitions as well as grappling tournaments, and boxing/kickboxing events. The Savannah MMA team currently trains at Savannah Martial Arts Academy at 904 East 70th Street in Savannah GA and consists of men, women, and youth students.

August 9th, 4 of our students at Savannah MMA competed in Mobile Alabama in mixed martial arts. One of the reasons we decided to go there was because the fights featured youth mixed martial arts from 10-17 year olds. The trip was quite an adventure and there were several changes made both to our competitors and the schedule of events. Our fighters all competed hard, but we had two wins and two losses.

Results :

Max Barber (16) defeated his opponent early in the second round with a high round kick to the face followed by a barrage of punches. Max then took his opppnent to the canvas and took full mount where the referree stopped the match. His opposing fighter was unconsious at this point and the match was stopped as a TKO.

Travis “Red Beard” Shiflett defeated his opponent John Smelley in the second round via an armlock. He fought hard the entire time and landed some pretty powerful shots but John was a tough opponent and kept pressing the action.

Brian Lafond was caught early with a right hook and after the ensuing flurry and takedown attempt, he ended up going for a double leg takedown. Unfortunately, his opponent got caught on the ropes and was able to end up on top of Brian where he established mount and won via strikes from the mount.

David Grosse came ready to strike but his opponent dropped for a takedown. After grappling for a few moments, David took a top position, but lost it when attempting a guillotine choke. He was caught in a quarter as he attempted to get to his feet and was tapped out due to rear naked choke.

Want to Fight? :

All of the guys did a great job, and we want to compete in the next Mobile show in October. If you would like to compete in MMA, let our school know by contacting us. We would love to have you in class as a training partner and would like to see you compete in mixed martial arts competition as well.

Ok, so I got to see both sets of fights this past Saturday, and I have to say that neither card disappointed. Sure they both had their boring moments, but overall, both events presented good fighters in impressive fights.

Some people had their doubts about the two main events, but there is trully something to be said about Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. Both have beened dubbed the greatest fighter pound for pound, but it never fails that these industry kings have to keep proving how great they are.

Let’s take Fedor for instance… Here is a guy who everyone says in the best… no wait THE Best. And yet they turn right around and say he has never been tested. I guess Nogiera, Crocop, Heath Herring, Kevin Randellman and many others aren’t worthy enough to be a good test so it takes Tim “the maniac” Silvia to prove that he is the greatest… Why is it even in question who will win?

Anderson Silva decided to move up for some more interesting matchups and everyone looks at his slight frame and wonders whether he made the right call. Should he risk his reputation as unstoppable by going against a larger, stronger, more explosive and devastating group of fighters? Always the doubt presents itself. I must admit I am guilty of the doubt myself.

So we saw both main events prove us all wrong and right at the same time with two impressive finishes lasting only seconds each.

Other fights included two that greatly impressed me and two that let me down with their wins.  Frankie Edgar and Andrei Arlovski both greatly impressed me with their well roundedness and tenacity both never letting their opponents rest. Matt Lindland and Brandon Vera both let me down with their lackluster performances versus unknown opponents. Vitor also impressed as did Cain Velasquez.

Yet again, two good cards and hopefully we will see many more soon.