On November 2nd 2008 Darrel James of Tillery Combat MMA travelled to Hereford to compete for the Combat Sports British Amateur Championships Title. Darrell competed in an 8 man tournament to challenge for the Belt. Darrell who usually competes at welterweight entered the event at middleweight. at 77 kg he was the lightest competitor in his catagory. Darrell won his quarter and semi final bouts via unanimous decision. Both were very physical bouts and were over 2 x 3 minutes rounds.

In the final Darrell fought against Richard Willis who represents UK Fight Team. Darrell gave away 10 kgs in weight to his much bigger opponent.

Darrell gave the fight his all, but in the end his opponents size was just to much, and Darrell lost via submission.
Coach Richard Shore said " I could not have asked for any more from him. to compete the way he did in a heavier weight division is a fantastic achievement. He can stand with his head held high as he gave it everything. I cant put into words how proud of him I am This will be his last outing as an amateur as 2009 will see him concentrating on establishing himself on the professional circuit."

ML Sports National Championships 2008

On Dec 6th Tillery Combat MMA fighter Ryan Phelps competed for the Lightweight Welsh Grapple & Strike Title in Nantyglo.
In his semi final he won via decision against Lee Kelly of Isle of Man MMA.
In the final he was to meet another local fighter, Simon Edmunds of Pedro Bessa Wales.
The fight began with Simon getting the take down and Ryan needing to defend submission attempts from the first few seconds.
The fight went back and for and had the whole crowd on their feet.
At 3 minutes and 50 seconds of the first round Simon managed to secure an armbar and Ryan had no option but to tap out.
Ryan took silver for the 2008 championships and should feel very proud of his achievement.
Coach Richard Shore said "on a personal note as a coach im very proud of Ryans performance. He lost to Simon Edmunds in the final which is no shame as Simon is one of the best pound for pound fighters on the amateur scene. Congats to Simon and his team on his title win.
Going back to Ryan i think he showed everyone who watched him fight that at 18 years of age he is a huge asset to our club and he has a huge MMA career in front of him."

Well done to Darrell and Jason competing in the grappling at Hereford on the 7th December. Darrell went on to take Gold in his weight class, but well done to Jason in his first competitive tournament . Well Done Guys.

Grapple and Strike Finals 6th Dec

Well done to Darrell, Shaky and Dave Coles for the awarded stripes.

Darrell White 3 Stripes, Shaky Blue 2 Stripes and Dave Brown 2 Stripes.

Well Done Guys and a big thank you to Braulio and Dave Coles.

On Sunday February 8th two Tillery Combat fighters travelled to Hereford to make their amateur MMA debuts, Martin McDonough and Mark Marshman travelled to Hereford to compete in the Combat Sports Open Trials MMA tournament. 
Mark came away with a loss to a much more experienced competitor in his first fight and a draw in a very physical second bout, in which he dominated the fight.
Martin came away with a win and a draw from his two bouts. The win came in emphatic style with Martin submitting his opponent in 24 seconds.
Coach Richard Shore said "Im very pleased with both guys performances. All the hard work they put in at the gym really showed. Martin was in outstanding form giving away 5kgs in weight to both opponents. As for Mark it was hard to believe he has only been training in the sport for 11 weeks. Both fighters should be really proud of their displays."
Both fighters would like to thank Jason Evans of B & B Garage and Dylan Bull of the Sunrise Cafe for their support and sponsorship.

Martin and Mark at the ML Sports 1st Leg Feb 08 Hereford

Four Tillery Combat MMA fighters travelled to Tylerstown to compete in the Cage Heroes Series professional Mixed Martial Arts show.
It was a disappointing day as far as results were concerned. but all four fighters put in excellent performances. First up was Martin McDonaugh who took part in a grappling bout. The fight went the distance and the judges scored the bout as a draw. Next up was Tomas Keech who took part in an amateur MMA bout. Tomas took the bout despite giving away 10kg in weight. The fight went back and forth and had the crowd on their feet, but in the end the size difference was to much and Tomas lost via submission. 
Third fighter up was Ryan Phelps who was making his Semi Professional Debut. Ryan may have lost via a submission but showed at 19 that he has the potential to be a top fighter with a bit more experience.
Last up was Darrell James who was fighting for the Cage Fight Series professional rules welterweight title. This was to be the fight of the night. The fight began with both fighters landing heavy punches. Darrell dominated the fight and was ahead on points. Halfway through the 2nd round his opponent got top position and threw several punches and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. The decision was greeted with Boo's of disapproval from the crowd, as most people felt the stoppage was to early. Darrell may have lost the bout but his performance had won respect from everyone watching. The shows promoter has agreed for Darrell to have a rematch for the title in October.
All the fighters would like to thank B&B Garage & The Sunrise Cafe for their sponsorship.

On March 22nd Tillery Combat MMA took a team to Newport to enter the Welsh Open Brazilian Jui Jitsu championships. There was over 150 competitors from England Scotland and Wales at the event.
They came away with a good medal haul. Tom Keech took Bronze in the White Belt under 64kg division, Steve Jayne took Bronze in the White belt under 88kg division, Jason Bourne (Not from the film) took Silver in the White Belt under 88kg Division, Lee Atkins won Gold in the White belt under 95kg division and Gold in the White belt open weight category. Richard Shore came away with a Gold medal in the Blue Belt under 82kg division. Darrel James and Lawrence Long also competed and gave very good accounts of themselves.
Coach Richard Shore said "Im really pleased with the teams performance. This was the first time any of us have competed in an official Brazilian Jui Jitsu tournament, so to come away with the medals that we did is an awesome achievement."

All the fighters would like to thank B&B Garage & The Sunrise Cafe for their sponsorship.

Welsh Open BJJ Championships 2009

Todd Bradly & Greg Callow of Tillery Combat MMA Academy competed at the recent Grapple & Strike Wales Amateur League 1st leg. Both fighters were making their amatuer MMA debuts. Both put in fantastic performances despite their inexperience in the sport.
Todd dominated in a draw in his first bout against a very aggressive opponent,and lost his 2nd bout via submission to a much more experienced fighter.
Greg let nerves get the better of him in his first fight. He rushed in and was caught in a submission very quickly. His 2nd bout turned out to be the exact opposite as he composed himself and dominated the fight from start to finish winning via a guillotine choke.
Both fighters will be competing again soon at the next leg.

G&S March 2009 1st Leg

NEWS..

Tillery combat MMA team competed on the "House of Pain" MMA show which is the biggest MMA event in Wales. Ryan Phelps and Martin Mcdonaugh both competed in Semi Professional bouts and both went the distance. Both their fights were declared a draw. Jack Marshman who fought a Semi Professional bout lost to a more experienced opponent and Darrel James lost in a full Professional Rules bout.
Coach Richard Shore said "All fighters put 100% effort into their training to prepare for the Grappling and the MMA event. Again they did themselves and the club proud. Most of the last are still very inexperienced but I really believe that over the next 18 months we will develop a team that will be able to compete at the highest level with anyone in the country."

House of pain NEWPORT

Date: 07/05/09

Tillery Combat MMA continued their busy competition schedule. On May 31st they took a team of nine competitors to the Grip Grappling submission fighting event in Newport. The team was made up mainly by novice members with less than 12 months training. The team took a good medal haul with Nathan Owens, Christian Tetly, Steve Jayne and Ryan Phelps all taking bronze in their respective weight divisions. Martin McDonaugh took Gold in his division. Darrel James, Jack Marshman & Jason Rimes all gave good accounts of themselves. The fighters would like to thank Karrselect who was their sponsor for the event.

Grip Grappling submission fighting

Date: 31/04/09

G&S and BritisH BJJ chqmpionships

"Once again the Tillery Combat MMA team were in competitive action. They are living up to their reputation of being one of the most active teams in the UK.
On Saturday July 4th three of the MMA team were in Semi Professional action, fighting on the AFL Fight Night show in Cardiff. Chris Morgan lost via Judges Decision in the most physical fight of the night. Jack Marshman won via armbar in the first round and Martin McDonaugh continued his unbeaten MMA streak winning via Triangle Choke in the 2nd round .

The following day the Submission Fighting team took 10 competitors the the TCA Hereford Grappling Championships. Ryan Phelps, Jason Bourne, Ben Hayward, Ben Brumby, Nathan Owens, Kyle Prosser, and Christian Tetly all gave fantastic accounts of themselves. Special mention goes to Mark Marshman and Darrel James for taking Bronze Medals in very tough divisions, and to Jack Shore who at 14 years of age became the clubs youngest competitor.
To date the team has taken part in over 100 senior bouts since the beginning of 2009 which is a fantastic achievment.
Thanks go to B & B Garage and The Sunrise Cafe for their sponsorship."

Date: 04/07/09

AFL / Hereford grappling championships

On Sunday June 21st Tillery Combat MMA continued their rich vein of form on the competitive circuit.
Todd Bradley competed at the Grapple & Strike Wales Amateur League in Nantyglo. All the hard work that he has put in over the last few months paid off. Todd made quick work of his first opponent by winning the fight via guillotine choke in just 21 seconds. His 2nd fight went the distance but Todd dominated the fight from start to finish. Todd is hoping to cement his place in the final by putting in equal performances in the 3rd leg of the event in September.
On the same day Tillery Combat coach Richard Shore travelled to Birmingham to compete at the British Open Brazilian Jui Jitsu Championships. This is the biggest event of the year and attracted over 640 competitors from all over Europe. Richard took the Silver medal in the Senior Blue Belt Division losing the final by just 1 point to the reigning 2008 Seni European Champion Phil Tucker.
Coach Richard Shore said "This was a fantastic result fot Todd. The club are really proud of the progress he is making. As for myself Im reasonably happy with the silver medal but next year I will hopefully go one step further."
Both fighters would like to thank B & B Garage and The Sunrise Cafe for their sponsorship. 

Congratulations to Tillery Combat Coach Richard Shore who was awarded The Coach of The Year Award at the recent Blaenau Gwent Sports Personality Awards 2009 held at Tredegar Leisure Centre.

Coach of The Year Award

Blaenau Gwent Sports Personality Awards 2009

Date: 11/07/09

Spartan fight night

July 11th saw three Tillery Combat fighters in action on the Spartan Fight Night show held in Bristol.
First up was Ryan Phelps who competed in a Semi Professional Bout. Ryan was looking to get his first win at Semi Professional level and he was not to be disappointed. He dominated his bout from the opening seconds and secured the win via armbar submission in the 1st round. 
Next up was Martin McDonaugh looking to extend his unbeaten run in MMA. He competed in a Semi Professional bout for the 2nd time in a week. Again he did not disappoint his team with a quick victory via armbar in the first round. Last up was Darrel James in a Professional bout. This turned out to be the fight of the night. The bout had the entire arena on its feet as both fighters had a war both standing and on the ground. Darrel showed fantastic heart and a chin of steel. The bout went the distance and Darrel took the decision giving him his first professional win. Coach Richard Shore said " This was another great night for the team. Ryan had a great win and showed great maturity for a lad of 19 years of age. Martin again showed why he is so highly rated getting his 2nd win in a week, and maintaining his unbeaten MMA record. As for Darrel, he showed the heart of a champion and came through to win what was without doubt the fight of the night. All three are a credit to our club"

Date: 21/06/09

The Tillery Combat MMA team had another busy weekend with six fighters competing on Sunday August 16th
The first competition of the day was the Combat Sports British Amateur MMA trials at Hereford,
Martin Mcdonaugh had a loss and a draw but throughout the year has gathered enough points and has been invited back for the finals to compete for the British Title in November. This is a fantastic achievement as Martin has competed all year in a higher weight division.
The other four fighters were all making their MMA debuts
Kyle Prosser  lost both his bouts but can be proud of his performance and he will be a better fighter for the experience. Kyle is one of the success stories of the work that is being done with the club by working with young offenders. Since joining the Academy he has been a model student and the team are proud of his progress. Phil Moss had two draws against much more experienced guys but dominated both bouts which is amazing when you think he has only trained for 3 months.
Nathan Owens had two draws but also dominated both bouts. He gets better with every event.
Chris Tetly had two draws but was unfortunate not to get the win as his opponent tapped right on the bell. Again he dominated in every area in both bouts. Chris has become one of the teams most improved performers over the last few months.
The evening saw the team travel to Tondu where Chris Morgan fought in a semi professional rules bout on the Savage Fight Night show. Chris lost via a decision in what was the fight of the night. Despite the loss Chris is gaining a reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the country. Coach Richard Shore said " I am really pleased with the teams performance. As I keep saying as the lads keep gaining experience they will get better and better. Im excited by the potential that they have and within 18 months we will have fighters who are capable of competing at the very highes level."

Combat Sports British Amateur MMA

Date: 16/08/09

Merthyr mayhem

Date: 12/09/09

Tillery Combat MMA kept up their reputation as the most active fight team in the UK. September 12th saw six of the team compete on the Merthyr Mayhem MMA show.
Nathan Meek made his competitive debut by competing in a grappling match which he won via rear naked choke in round 1.
Two of the team competed in Amateur MMA bouts with Ben Brumby losing via submission and Kyle Prosser lost via decision in one of the most exciting bouts of the night.

The final three members of the team all competed in Semi Professional bouts. First up was Mark Marshman who was making his Semi Professional debut. He made quick work of the bout winning via armbar in round 1.
Next was Kris Edwards who took the fight at a heavier weight division after his original opponent pulled out. Kris won the bout via rear naked choke in the 2nd round.

Last up for the team was Jack Marshman who is building a reputation as one of the best young fighters on the circuit. This was Jacks toughest bout to date against the more experienced Stuart Tyrie of Gracie Barra gym Swansea. Despite being the underdog Jack took the fight to his opponent in aggressive manner, and took the victory via knockout in round 1.
All the fighters would like to thank B&B Garage and The Sunrise Cafe for their sponsorship.

"Tillery Combat MMA took 4 fighters to Hereford to compete in The Combat Academy Ground fighting Tournament.
All four came back with medals.
First to fight was Nathan Owens who took Silver in the under 71kg division.
Both Mark Marshman and Darrel James competed in the Under 78kg division with Mark taking Bronze and Darrel taking Gold. 
Last up was Shain Redman who fought in the advanced absolute division. Shain showed no signs of ring rust after having 2 years away from the competitive circuit. He took Silver after narrowly losing a decision in the final.
Coach Richard Shore said " We are starting to show that we can be just as competitive on the Jui Jitu circuit as we are on the MMA scene. We are developing a very well rounded team. Once again the team have showed real fighting spirit as we continue to compete at every opportunity."

Grapple and Strike

Date: 20/09/09

Combat academy Ground Fighting tournament

Date: 20/09/09

Two members of the Tillery Combat MMA team competed at the recent Grapple & Strike event at Nantyglo.
First to fight was Mark Marshman who competed in 2 Amateur MMA bouts. Both fights went the distance with Marshman dominating against both opponents.

Joel Reed made his MMA debut by stepping straight into a semi professional bout. Joel eventually lost via a Rear Naked Choke in the 2nd round but put in a fantastic performance. The team are in action again on October 10th in Bristol where five of their fighters will be in action.

On October 10th the Tillery Combat MMA team had five fighters compete on The Spartan Fight Challenge MMA show in Nailsea, Bristol. First to fight was Martin Mcdonaugh in a semi professional bout. He fought a former British Judo champion. Martin won via rear naked choke in the first round. Ryan Phelps lost via submission in a semi professional bout. Kris Edwards competed in a semi professional bout and continued his winning streak for the club wih a 2nd round submission victory. Darrel James fought in a full professional rules bout and lost via referees stoppage. Last up was Jack Marshman in a semi professional bout. He continued to build his reputation as one of the best fighters on the semi professional circuit with a 25 second knock out victory in the first round. The fighters would like to thank B & B Garage and The Sunrise Cafe for their continued sponsorship.

Tillery Combat MMA continued with their busy competition schedule. Four of the Grappling team travelled to Hereford on the 25th of August to compete in the Hereford Open Grappling tournament. All four came back with medals. John Price and Paul James made their debuts for the club and took Bronze medals in their respective divisions. Darrel James was again in action and took Silver medals in his weight catagory and the Open weight event. Christian Tetly continued to show how well he is progressing by taking the Gold medal in his division.

November 1st saw Martin McDonaugh and Mark Marshman compete for a British Title at the Combat Sports Amateur MMA National Championships. Both were to take part in eight man tournaments after excelling in the championships throughout the year. Mark who has been training less than 11 months showed great skill and won his first fight in 18 seconds. In the semi final he won via Judges decision. In the final he faced last years champion and lost the bout via submission. Martin who was competing in a higher weight division won all three of his fights, In the final he stopped his opponent with an excellent submission to secure the British Title.

Combat sports mma finals 2009

Grappling open Hereford 2009

On Saturday November 29th, Tillery Combat MMA coach Richard "Shaky" Shore travelled to Exeter to fight on the Strength & Honour 3 Cage Fighting event.
Richard fought under full professional Mixed Martial Arts rules against local fighter Ray Burns of Pedro Bessa St Ives team. Richards opponent failed to make weight and came in 2 kgs above the agreed limit. Richard still agreed to go ahead and fight.
The fight started with Burns being the more dominant fighter and Richard had to defend several submission attempts. Richard took some heavy shots but kept his composure. towards the end of the 1st round Richard managed to reverse his opponent and get a dominant position on top. From there he kept his opponent pinned and was able to connect with some good punches. The fight was stopped at 4 minutes and 45 secs of the 1st round with Richard winning the bout via technical knockout.
Richard said "Without doubt this was my toughest bout to date. Ray had me in all sorts of trouble at the start of the round, but I managed to weather the storm. I would like to thank all of my team who helped me prepare over the last 8 weeks, and travelled all the way to Exeter to support me. Also a big thank you to Darrel James and Ryan Phelps for cornering me on the day. I would also like to thank Jason Evans (B & B Garage) and Dylan Bull (Sunrise Cafe) for their support and sponsorship."

Strength & Honour 3 November 29th 2008

BJJ Braulio Seminar Belt awards

BJJ Grappling at Hereford 7th dec

Rumble in the Rhondda March 1st 2009