Higher Level Martial Arts

Evolution of Combat 4 review featuring James Doolan, David Galbraith and Dan Hope

Mick Kane 23/04/2019

Evolution of Combat 4 took place in Glasgow on Saturday 20th April 2019 at the Maryhill Community Hall. This was the promotions first venture to Scotland and they picked a venue steeped in Scottish MMA history, a place where the Dinky Ninja Fight Team helped make MMA in Scotland what it is now. Picking a good venue is one thing but having good fights is another and again Evolution of Combat 4 delivered. The show was kicked off by four grappling bouts, two of which were title bouts, then an absorbing K1 fight between Alex Burns and Jake Staerke, which ended up a draw. Next up was the amateur card. There was an international flavour to proceedings, with 4 Icelandic, a Dutch and a Finnish fighter on the card. Most of the fights were evenly matched, some going the distance, some knockouts and some submissions. Two young fighters Jack Leckie and Alex Meikle made their debut against each other and both guys gave their all in an entertaining fight. Leckie winning by unanimous decision but both guys can be proud of their debut. Young Sean Clancy Jr, in only his second fight, still only 16 years old, faced a young Icelander, most of the Icelandic team had good grappling skills and Jon Ingi was from this mold, landing a takedown and looking to grapple however young Clancy Jr was able to capitalise and won by TKO due to ground and pound. A great learning experience for Clancy Jr. Other notable mentions on the amateur card, were Thomas Callaghan, who had been out of action for a while, returned with a good performance to win by unanimous decision, Jeff Akhah won by TKO in a quickfire first-round win. There was also some disappointment for some of the Scots involved as Sean Stroud, Justin Flannigan and Chris Gregg all suffered first-round defeats against decent opposition from The Netherlands and Iceland. The pro card was up next with Fee Chrystall taking on Veera Nykanen from Finland, this was a competitive fight throughout with both fighters having their moments but it was to be Fee Chrystall’s night winning by split decision to record her first win as a pro. The main event featured a Scotland v England bout with Higher Level’s Jason Woods up against Kaizen’s Adam Gregory. This was a fairly even match up with a lot of grappling involved until Gregory landed an axe kick to Woods who was still grounded, resulting in a disqualification win for Woods. I spoke to Higher Level’s James Doolan, who had four fighters on the card, for his thoughts of the night. It’s clear Doolan enjoyed the show and the setting. “I liked the format of Evolution of Combat having the submission only grappling matches on early before the MMA fights. “The venue has always been brilliant, the first MMA fights in Scotland took place in the central halls, I fought there 4 times myself back in the day, it’s always cool to go back. “The show was really well run and the fighters were looked after. I think to have an ex-pro fighter in Dan Hope running it, he’s going to ensure that’s always the case as he will know it makes a difference. No massive intervals, raffles or gaps between fights is always good.” Doolan was also happy with the officials that were used. He said, “The fact they used MMA officials was decent as too often up here shows use whatever local guys are free on fight night and some of them, not all, shouldn’t be officiating fights.” Doolan was happy with the matchmaking and hope’s to see the promotion return. “The fights all seemed pretty well matched on the night, I know this is something Dan Hope is keen to keep as a standard on the show, on a personal note the guys worked hard and took financial risks bring in opponents for some of our fighters especially Fee Chrystall who’s hard to match and Justin Flannigan who had about 4 different opponents before fight night. Hopefully, the show returns to Scotland on a regular basis.” Doolan gives us an insight into how he felt his fighters performed on the night. “Performance-wise Sean Clancy showed great toughness and a well-rounded skill set far beyond any other 16-year old I’ve seen in his win over an older bigger Icelandic opponent. He’s one to watch for the future. “Justin Flannigan never got going unfortunately and was made to pay for it against a good Dutch opponent. Back to the gym for him and some areas to address. “Fee Chrystall and her Finnish opponent had the most technical fight of the night, Fee got the points to win which I felt was right just due to her landing more strikes in round 1 and 3. Happy for her as she puts everything into MMA and it’s hard for her with her being so small and not a lot of girls around to train with or compete against. She got to showcase a lot of the work we have done in the gym and the changes she has made since coming to Higher Level. “In the main event, Jason Woods was getting beat before his opponent got DQ’d for axe kicking him in the face when he was in a downed position. Some ring rust there from Jason I think as he’s not fought in a while. I know he’s asked for the fight to happen again so we will see. Will go on his record as a Win via DQ but it wasn’t a win in any way. Lessons to be learned.” Also coaching at the show was New Life Gym head coach David Galbraith who had two fighters appear on the card. It seems Galbraith was also happy with how the show went. “I really liked the show as they channelled their energy into the right areas meaning it was a transparent legitimate show. All matches were fairly matched, all

One to Watch: Iain Feenan at ACB 81: Carneiro vs Saidov

Peter Knox 22/02/2018

The last time Iain Feenan (6-2-0) fought for Absolut Championship Berkut, the three-time British judo champion left the Manchester Arena with the first blemish on an otherwise perfect professional MMA career. This Friday from Dubai at ACB 81: Carneiro vs Saidov, the Scot hopes to balance his record with the Russian organisation against promotional newcomer and Phuket Top Team member Baz Mohammad Mubariz (9-4-0). A member of the Dinky Ninja Fight team who trains at Higher Level MMA in Whitburn, Feenan has shown his capabilities on the feet and on the ground with 2 KO/TKOs and 2 submissions to his name, both of the latter coming in the first round. His most recent win, a decision against Spain’s Iban Hernandez in 2016, netted him the Headhunters FC 155lbs title. This should be no surprise considering Feenan’s stablemates at Higher Level are the likes of former EFC featherweight champion Danny “The Hatchet” Henry (11-2-0) and former BAMMA and CWFC lightweight champion Stevie “Braveheart” Ray (21-7-0), who both now compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. With another impressive win on Friday, Feenan could hope to get a call to join them at a future UK event for the Las Vegas-based promotion. Feenan’s skills will definitely be put to the test against Afghanistan’s Mubariz however, who comes into the bout on a 4 fight win streak with 3 1st round submission victories and a 9 second TKO in Octagon Fighting Sensation 11 last year among his 9 wins. Feenan’s coach, the pioneering James Doolan, echoed these sentiments in an interview with MMA UK on Wednesday, stating that provided Feenan “performs at his best” things should go his way. Ahead of his bout Feenan comfortably made weight and is now “refuelling and ready to go for tomorrow”, with Mubariz also successfully making weight, setting the stage for tomorrow nights exciting clash. Check out the below video of Feenan’s 3rd round TKO of Michael Reid back in 2016 to give you a taste of what’s to come. The live stream of ACB:81 will be available via ACB’s Facebook, and further coverage will be available here at MMA UK and via our Twitter and Facebook.

Peter McCafferty Interview Ahead of His Title Shot at On Top

Mick Kane 14/02/2018

Peter McCafferty bids to make it third time lucky in title fights when he faces On Top amateur flyweight champion Ollie Southern, McCafferty will be looking to bring the belt back to Scotland. McCafferty fights out of Higher Level gym which has produced current UFC stars Stevie Ray and Danny Henry, among a host of top domestic fighters ready to follow them. MMA UK caught up with Peter to get his thoughts on the title shot, training at Higher Level and what the future holds. MMA UK: You are due to fight amateur flyweight champ Ollie Southern next month on On Top. How do you see the fight going? Do you know much about Southern? PM: I see the fight going one way and that’s my way. Southern has some experience a bit like myself so we will both be bringing that into the cage come fight time but I feel I’ll be better in every situation. I’ll be far too much for him he has never stepped into the cage with someone like me. It will be good for both of us. MMA UK: You last fought in August for the Budo belt and suffered a defeat by Jamie Kelly. How did you feel after that fight, were there areas you feel you could have improved on? PM: My last fight was a fun last minute fight. Took the fight on 10 days notice and first time making flyweight. After being out injured for 1.5 years it to me was a win-win situation regardless of the result, it got me back in action and I know I can make that weight on such little time. It was the first time going five rounds which was good. Personally, I thought I edged the win but judges saw it differently. I’d rather shoot and miss than never take an opportunity. MMA UK: You have fought mostly at bantamweight but moved to flyweight for your last fight and this upcoming fight, are you planning on staying at flyweight? PM: Ten of my fights have been at bantamweight I’m sure and only one at flyweight. I’m dangerous at bantamweight so to drop to fly only allows me to create more havoc. I’ll fight at either weight, to be honest, it’s nice to have options. I’m clever with my weight so it’s not a problem for me. MMA UK: You train at Higher Level, one of the top gyms in Scotland. Tell us what it’s like to train with a successful gym like Higher Level? PM: Training at Higher Level allows me to really push myself. We all have that mentality which allows us to grow better as a family. There are no egos at the gym only a tight unit that wants the best for each other. We are crazy talented and trust me when I say we are taking everything. We stay fight ready all year round and with more boys getting into the UFC it only goes to show what we are doing is right. MMA UK: How did you become involved in MMA? PM: I became involved in MMA through the practice of Taekwondo which opened the doors to various other arts. From there I went on to do some Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and extended into the mixed martial arts side of it all. MMA UK: What do you hope to achieve within the sport? PM: I plan on continuing my career as far as this sport will take me. I see myself at the very top one day as I always have. I have no boundaries for myself as I’ll continue to grow and grow. I’m still very young with a lot of fights and experience under my belt. There is no place I feel uncomfortable so that for me is one of the keys to growth. I’m constantly learning and improving so there are no limits. You can purchase tickets for On Top ‘March Madness’ online from Skiddle below.

Alex Davidson speaks to MMAUK ahead of Headhunters fight

Mick Kane 15/05/2017

Alex Davidson is taking on Aidan Stephen at Headhunters Fighting Championship on June 3rd. It’s set to be another great night of MMA action for the local Scottish circuit. We ask him about his career, upcoming fight and what the future holds. MMAUK: You are due to meet Aidan Stephen at Headhunters Fighting Championships on 3rd June. What do you know of your opponent? How do you see the fight playing out? AD: I know Aidan is a good all round fighter but his grappling is better than his striking and he tends to want to take the fight to the matt. I can see him trying to take me down because he ain’t going to want to strike with me. I think after I stuff his take down attempts he will get frustrated & break same as he did against Cal (Call Ellenor) at On Top. MMAUK: If you win this fight, is there anyone specific you would like to fight? AD: I would really like to fight Luke Ord again, just because of how the fight panned out. That’s the only fight I’ve fought and didn’t feel comfortable in there, I felt rushed as I only got to the venue 15/20 mins before I was due to fight. I was in the pictures prior to the fight and wasn’t aware a couple fights got cancelled that night so I was on earlier than expected. My phone was on silent and Dale had been trying to get a hold of me to see where I was and to let me know. I just happened to check my phone and saw his messages. I was like shit and made the rush to the venue. Take nothing away from Luke he caught me and that’s that, he is tough. MMAUK: What do you hope to achieve within MMA? AD: To be honest I’m just winging it!! I just do it because I like the fighting part!! Haha. I just take each fight as it comes and see where it takes me. MMAUK: You train at Higher Level, there are a lot of quality fighters coming out of there just now. How long have you trained there? Do you do any coaching? Is this an area you would be interested in after fighting? AD: Our gym is full of killers, even with the amateurs they give you hard rounds, everyone gives you different problems. It’s not as if James (Doolan) produces one dimensional fighters where his fighters are mainly good in one area, That’s why it’s great there. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the young guys and girls achieve in the future, sky’s the limit for them. God, now your asking!! Years lol. I cover some classes when coach is away with one of the other fighters. Yeah I think so, show these young ones how to Jackie Chans someone’s ass lol. MMAUK: Your only defeat came against Luke Ord, your team mate Calum Murrie is fighting him in a couple of weeks. How do you feel Murrie will fare against him? AD: I think Calum will definitely beat him, he will stop him. I think he will submit him. MMAUK: Finally, can you tell us what got you involved in MMA? AD: I remember I started of in karate and just progressed to kickboxing, K1 and then into mma. My old standup coach Gordon was James coach as well and I started training with James when I wasn’t training with Gordon and I loved it. I then decided that’s what I wanted to do, so I started training with James.

Calum Murrie speaks to MMAUK ahead of title fight

Mick Kane 11/05/2017

Calum Murrie is fighting Luke Ord for the Made 4 The Cage Featherweight title. Murrie is 2-0 (7-0 amateur) and made his pro debut at ACB in Glasgow and looking to experience more big shows. MMAUK: You are due to meet Luke Ord at Made 4 The Cage for the featherweight title. What do you know of your opponent? How do you see the fight playing out? CM: I’ve watched a few of his fights. He looks pretty well rounded, decent striking, pretty basic but effective and a tricky jiujitsu style. I don’t really have a game plan for this fight im just going to go in there and have fun. MMAUK: You are on a good win streak 9-0 in total (2-pro), 6 of these fights were finished by submission. Would you say you are becoming a bit of a submission expert? CM: Nah got a long way to go before becoming an expert, I’ve trained jiujitsu for quite a while now and I do like to go for submissions but I will take whatever is there whether it’s a submission, ko or decision. MMAUK: Having seen your record I was surprised to see you started out in taekwondo. Can you tell us a bit about your journey to mma? CM: Yeah I started at my local Taekwondo gym in Alloa in 2008 really to keep me out of bother and give me something to focus on other than fast cars at the time haha after a few classes I was hooked and wanted to train more and compete. Only a few months in I started grappling for a bit of fun down the local judo/mma club and ended up having my first semi pro mma fight at in 2010. MMAUK: You made your pro debut at ACB 47 at the Hydro in Glasgow. How did it feel to make your pro debut at such a big venue in front if a home crowd? CM: That was a great show to be a part of, the whole build up to that fight was great, I did a couple weeks out at 10th Planet Corona and finished camp back at Higher Level for that fight. There was quite a lot of media and promotional stuff along with it that got me excited about it. Unfortunately my opponent had to pull on the day of the weigh in as his gf went in to labour but I still managed to get a game opponent to step in which was ideal. It was a buzz walking out in the SSE Hydro in front of the home crowd, I had a good support that night. MMAUK: To make your debut with one of the bigger promotions must have given you a taste of what could come? CM: Yeah definitely, i just take it a fight at a time but I would definitely like to fight on ACB again, it was a great show with good production. Some buzz. MMAUK: You fight out of Higher Level Martial Arts, one of the best MMA gyms in Scotland if not the UK. Has training there taken your game a step up? CM: Of course, my game has totally changed since moving to Higher Level mma. When I first went to Higher Level I had my Taekwondo and jiujitsu off my back, it was winning me fights but only up till a certain level. Since moving to Higher Level and working with my coach James Doolan I have worked on all aspects of the mma game and I think it has shown in my last 9 fights. MMAUK: There’s some high profile fighters at the gym, training with them must improve you? CM: Yeah of course, training with guys like Stevie Ray, Danny Henry, Stevie Mcintosh, your definitely going to improve. The gym is full of talent, there’s never an easy round in sight for mma sparring. MMAUK: I recently covered Budo 21 in Grangemouth and 5 Higher Level guys were fighting that night, all 5 won, I was impressed with the quality of fighters some of whom were only 17. There appears to be a bright future for the gym and MMA in Scotland. Who would you say to look out for? CM: The gym is just getting busier and busier. The sport is becoming more well known and more common so more guys and girls are getting in to it at a young age. The future is definitely bright for mma in Scotland and in the Higher level gym, there’s too many to name all the young guys coming through but a few off the top of my head to watch out for are Kunle Lawal, Logan Mcgonagal and Jordan Struthers. MMAUK: Finally what are you hoping to achieve within MMA? CM: I really don’t know. Like I said before I just take it a fight at a time, I’m getting old now haha 30 this year. All the training takes its toll on work and family life, but the main thing is im still enjoying my training, and I’m still improving, so as long as I keep winning fights and getting better I will keep competing and see where it takes me.

Niki Romanski speaks to MMA UK after making MMA debut

Mick Kane 04/05/2017

MMAUK covered the recent Budo 21 at Grangemouth, there were plenty of good fights however one fight stood out. Niki Romanski (Higher Level MMA) fought Arn Fullerton (Urban Guerrilla Fight Team). Fullerton had one MMA fight to his name despite being a month short of his 17th birthday while Romanski who is 17 was making his debut. The fight ended up being awarded Budo’s fight of the night. MMAUK caught up with the winner, the impressive Niki Romanski who could have a bright future in the sport. MMAUK: Congratulations on your win over Arn Fullerton at Budo 21 on Saturday. How pleasing was it to get a victory on your mma debut? NR: I’m happy to get the win at the weekend especially at a higher weight that I plan to fight at. But at the same time, I’m gutted that I didn’t get the finish in the first round. Looking back at the fight when I landed the cross off Arn’s kick I think I got too excited and rushed which then lead onto Arn recovering. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to competition so I’ll always find something that I could have done better. MMAUK: Fullerton seemed to have a lot of fans in the venue but you never seemed fazed by this and fought a well rounded fight. Did you have much knowledge of Fullerton before the fight? NR: The fans weren’t really bothering me that much to be honest. I mean, I was focused on the fight and the only thing that was on my head was to go out and preform nothing else really mattered other than that. I didn’t know Arn, I seen his first fight and that’s about it other than that I didn’t really know who he was. MMAUK: You train at Higher Level Martial Arts which is one of the best MMA gyms in Scotland. How long have you trained there? How good is it to have an experienced coach like James Doolan training you and in your corner? NR: I used to train at the Griphouse gym in Glasgow, trained there for around 2-2.5 years. Then I moved over to Higher Level late July 2016 and already I’ve made massive improvements and this is only in just under a year. I’m currently 17 and thinking of the progress I could make in the next couple of years with a team like Higher Level is incredible. Having James as my coach and in my corner is great. I mean thinking that I have one of the best coaches in Scotland if not the best made me a lot more confident going into this fight. As you said yourself James is very experienced, having him as my coach and training partners that are at Higher Level just leaves me to put the hours in and rest will fall into place. MMAUK: The team had good results on Saturday with several good performances how pleased were you to be recognised as fight of the night performance? NR: I was quite shocked when I first heard because I didn’t really think about it, but at the same time it didn’t really bother me that much. All that mattered to me was to put on a good performance and give a good fight everything else is just a bonus. MMAUK: You seemed to have a well rounded fighting skill, had a few takedowns and your striking seemed good, have you competed in any other combat sports? NR: I’ve competed in K1 back in November and done a grappling comp down in London last year. I’m training with fighters like Calum Murrie, Stevie Mcintosh, both of whom are great grapplers and strikers. When you’re training with people like that it’s hard not to have a well-rounded fight game. MMAUK: There are a lot of big names at Higher Level, who would you say is your biggest inspiration in MMA? NR: Cub Swanson would be the shout! I remember when I was 15, watching his highlight before training would get me pumped up for a sparring session haha, also met the guy when the UFC was over in Glasgow which was pretty cool. MMAUK: Are there any other up and comers from the gym you think we should be keeping an eye on? NR: Definitely man, there’s a lot of great fighters I train with, but Jordan Struthers, Pawel Wlodarczak, Kunle Lawal, Logan Mcgonigal are definitely worth a mention, you’ll see for yourself that these names are going to start coming up more often in Scottish MMA. MMAUK: What do you hope to achieve in MMA? NR: That’s a good question haha. From day one I took MMA really seriously. I started off doing BJJ classes 3-4 times a week, 3 weeks later I was training Thai, BJJ and wrestling. I was in the gym 5 times a week. At the start, it was a hobby but then developed into something much bigger. For me this fight is just the beginning, now I’m looking to stay busy gain more experience. As I mentioned before I’m only 17. I’m going to put the hours in, dedicate myself to the sport, the team and leave everything else to James. I know if I do that everything else should just fall into place. Who knows maybe one day I might even fight in the UFC!

Steven Ray MMA Seminar

Peter Knox 25/11/2016

Steven Ray one of Scotland’s most successful MMA fighters is holding a MMA seminar at Higher Level Martial Arts 17th december. He has a 4-1 UFC record and is a former 2x Cage Warrior Champion and former BAMMA Champion. The event will take place at Higher Level Martial Arts 17th december from 11 am – 2 pm. Prices are 15 pounds for members and 25 pounds for non members. Contact Higher Level Martial Arts or Steven Ray facebook page for more information.