Newton Aycliffe’s Dave Cunliffe had his first title defence at the weekend on Ian Freeman’s Mixed Martial Arts Show held in Stanley.
The show had several local fighters all trying their skills for top places in the weight divisions. David was joined by team mate Sam Robinson from Itaipava Gym in Newcastle as well as 2 local fighters Lewis Harrop and Brandon Jones from Viper mma.
All 4 fighters joined forces over the last few months and trained alongside each other for the event. Lewis had a great fight after getting off to a tricky start and submitted his opponent with a slick armbar, picking up the victory in his first semi professional bout!
Brandon had a real war with his experienced opponent. The fight saw some very close submission attempts and was extremely close. Brandon didn’t get the win but looked very good for training over so little time. Sam Robinson totally dominated his opponent right from the off. His wrestling gave him a huge advantage gulliotining his opponent with a victory by submission.
David was matched against a well known southern fighter Dominic Dillon, currently ranked 15 in the UK with several British titles. The fight was an explosive battle with both fighters trying to out strike and submit each other. Dave handed some heavy punches and knees before dropping Dominic with a nicely timed left hook.
The fight was stopped after some more knees as Dominic was unable to carry on. A great win for all involved.
The fighters would like to thank their coaches, Itaipava Newcastle run by Pete ‘the legend’ Irving, their team mates, family and friends, training partners, secret ninja squad JP and the boys, Mark at Viper mma, Rachel, Lucas, and everyone for their awesome support over fight camp!
