Recent Events

We’ve been very busy at Absolute MMA, so the posts have been sparse, but we’re going to throw some recent event information at you.

During March we had two separate grappling tournaments that the team participated in. The first tournament was put on by NAGA (North American Grappling Association) in Colorado. For the tournament we had three competitors go out to fight: Denver Merrifield-Nirva, Jeff Nielsen, and Bentley Garner.

NAGA Colorado

Jeff brought his wonderful and supportive family along for the trip as he participated in his first grappling tournament. Fighting in multiple NO-GI divisions, he managed to bring home a Silver medal in the Novice Welter weight division, and his first Gold medal in the Absolute Novice division! We were all very proud to see Jeff succeed in this tournament; many first -timers would have buckled under the pressure from a nationally ranked tournament.

Denver Merrifield-Nirva decided to participate on a whim and drove out to take home two silver medals in the Men’s NO-GI Intermediate as well as Advanced Feather Weight divisions. Denver had zero prep time for the tournament, but still managed to perform optimally.

Bentley Garner participated in the NO-GI as well as GI divisions, and brought home

Three Gold medals. His divisions were: Men’s GI Blue Belt Light Heavy Weight, Gi Blue Belt Middle weight, and Men’s NO-GI Intermediate Middle Weight. Ben’s final match ended after a verbal submission from his opponent who was incapacitated due to a knee injury from a Judo Throw.

Congrats to all of the guys that participated, those wins mean a lot to the gym. Also, a big thanks to Rob for taking time out to support the fellas and endure such a long road trip to Colorado.

Utah Champion’s Challenge- March 27th, 2010

Below are the results from the Champion’s Challenge tournament that was held at UVU on March 27th.

AdvancedGi

Featherweight 3rd: Riley Petersen

Middleweight 3rd: William DaBell

White Belt

Middleweight 3rd: Eric Ciffone

Heavyweight 3rd: Dustin Bond

No-Gi

Intermediate-Men

Middleweight

3rd: Chris Kennedy

Beginner Men

2nd: Jeff Nielson

Congratulations to everyone that went out to participate! We had some first-time participants with Eric and Dustin, who both did extremely well. Eric was forced to fight several matches that lasted over ten minutes, and Dustin actually choked someone unconscious (his opponent recovered after a few moments, and was fine to continue competing.) Everyone’s hard work paid off, and we look forward as a team to the next event. Team Absolute had a strong presence on the mat as competitors and referees, as well as spectators. Keep up the good work!

Absolute fighters win at Showdown

Absolute fighters Denver Merrifield-Nirva and Vadim "Dave" Komarov both won at Showdown

RAZOR WINS AT WCFC

Steven "Razor" Sharp of Absolute MMA wins via Unanimous decision against David Castillo in a 3 round slugfest. People in the crowd were calling it not only the fight of the night but the best fight in Utah in a long time.

Student Spotlight....meet Nathan Malloy!!!

Rob Handley, Nathan Malloy, Pedro Sierra

We’d like to introduce you to Nathan Malloy, who we all know as the pint size ninja that reads on the ring, and gets to live with our instructor (and his step-dad) Pedro Sierra. Nathan is eleven years old and has been practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for almost six years; he is a first degree orange belt and has competed upwards of ten times. He has taken first place on numerous occasions, and while he admits that he gets nervous for competitions he states that, “Once you get in it, you can’t get out, so you work through it.” (Pretty wise advice for the adults that are nervous to compete!) Nate’s favorite submission is the rear naked choke and his favorite position is the rear mount, he concedes that he succumbs to the triangle choke more than he would like (he has a tendency to escape to the wrong side.)

Watching the UFC is something that Nate does when he “doesn’t have anything better to do.” Chuck Lidell is his favorite fighter, and in his opinion, he’s almost as good as his hero, Chuck Norris. He’d like to earn his black belt, and says that he asks Pedro questions at home, but Pedro cheats at home, “He tickles and punches.” Nate candidly tells me how much he enjoys learning from his instructors (Camrann Pacheco, Rob Handley, and Ricky Bax,) but says that all men vacillate between being strict and fun, “which isn’t bad, it’s just the truth.” He has attended seminars with Grand Master Flavio Behring, and enjoys them a lot. Don’t expect any family secrets from Nate, he informed me that he won’t show his friends Jiu Jitsu, because he wants to know how to beat others up, not the other way around.

Nathan is the funniest eleven-year old that I’ve ever had the privilege of speaking with, albeit, he’s one of the funniest people I’ve met, period. He seems wise beyond his years and possesses a vocabulary that should shame most adults. He would like to go to MIT and wants to become an inventor when he’s older. He tells me that he’ll do whatever it takes to become an inventor and get into his dream school, including continuing to play the violin. Team sports and the like aren’t among his favorite things to do, but he loves to read (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Demonata,) plays video games, and listens to fantastic music (Zeppeling, Dragonforce, Tenacious D, and Black Sabbath.) All in all, he’s only eleven, but he reminds me of that hip/smart guy that you wanted to hang out with in high school.

Realistically he proclaims that he doesn’t know if he’ll compete in BJJ Competitions when he’s older, but he did share with me his personal motto for the sport, “First the head, then the heart; First ya think, then ya do. It’s like chess, you have to think about it before you move, “ I don’t know many people who can sum up the sport better.

Billing changes

We are currently in the process of going through some billing changes at the gym. You may notice your payment coming out under a slightly different name. It will be on the same billing date and be for the same amount. If there are any questions regarding this manner please talk to Camrann at the front desk. Also, if you need to make any adjustments to your account this is a great time to handle that.
Thank you,
Camrann

Absolute Fighter Koffi Adzitso gets KOTC title shot

Steve Sharp fights again April 3rd

Trainers that Inspire

Trainers that Inspire
by Terrell Sanders

Whenever I ask people what they think about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), they usual respond with, “what’s that, oh yeah you mean UFC (The Ultimate Fighting Championship)”and then I spend about 15 minutes explaining what it really is. Its amazing how so many people are ignorant to the world of MMA. MMA consists of many Martial Arts forms of self-defense from all over the world. Examples of some disciplines are Muay Thai kick-boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, judo, karate, and wrestling. The most important aspect of becoming a mixed martial artist is having an experienced coach to train with. The problem with that is there are so many trainers out there that claim they teach real mixed martial arts but in my opinion, all they do is collect your money. I have two trainers that have had a major influence in my life when it comes to MMA. Those two trainers are Professor Rob Handley and Camrann Pacheco. Rob Handley is the owner and head coach at Absolute MMA. Rob has dedicated most of his life to martial arts and teaching. Camrann Pacheco is the assistant trainer and a professional mixed martial artist. I look up to Cam like he an older brother.

Professor Rob Handley is a 2nd degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) black belt and has been training BJJ since 1993. He is also a Muay Thai trainer and has a black belt in Taekwondo and Judo. (AbsoluteMMA.com) My favorite quote of Rob’s is “There are two ways you can learn this, there is the easy way or you can learn it the hard way.” Unfortunately I always have to learn the hard way, which usually hurts the most.

Rob is probably one of the most genuine people I know. He’s a not afraid to say what’s on his mind. If he thinks someone is wasting his time, he’ll tell them, but at the same time be patient and willing to teach if they’re willing to learn. Rob doesn’t sugar coat anything. If he sees something that needs be improved, he will address it; such as form, technique or how much effort the fighter is putting into training. I remember a training session with my teammates. We were practicing Muay Thai clinching drills, which is a high- pitched condition and technique training drill. Halfway through the training session one of my teammates stopped training and sat out. Keep in mind the rest of us were just as tired but we just dug deep and found the will to continue. Ironically, that person sitting out had a fight coming up. So after the training session Rob came up and told him, without hesitation, that he should think about not fighting because he was always quitting and making excuses. I thought he was joking until I realized he was being serious. It was pretty funny for a split second till I realized the tone he had in his voice. All of us paused for about a minute and absorbed it in.

MMA training is one the hardest things I’ve ever done. The condition training fills your lungs with hot air and it mentally and physically breaks you down. In my opinion it has the hardest training regiments in the world of sports. Day after day my team mates and I put in hard day of conditioning work and sparring. What some people don’t see at our gym is that Rob actually puts himself through the same type of training. He even does harder work when it comes to Muay Thai pad work and kettlebell training. Time and time again I’ve walked into the gym in the morning and witnessed him training high paced kickboxing rounds till he turned purple. I remember every time he was done he would tell me that’s how I should train. He would tell me if I wasn’t worn out after every round that I wasn’t putting in enough effort and that I needed to work harder.

I can honestly say I’m more mentally and physically tough because of Rob. I would recommend him to anyone who was looking to learn how to fight. Rob is an excellent coach who won’t let a fighter get into a match that they couldn’t handle. He knows what he’s doing and that is why he has taught so many successful fighters out of his gym, such as Camrann Pacheco; a top ranked featherweight fighter in Utah, Steven ”Razor” Sharp; WFC World Champion, and UFC veteran Josh Burkman.

Other than Rob, the other trainer I spend a majority of my time training with is Camrann Pacheco, or Cam, as he’s referred to at the gym.I met Cam when I walked in the doors of Absolute MMA for the first time. He was sitting behind a desk working on a computer. Cam stands 5ft 9” tall and walks around at 155 lbs. or more. He fights in the feather weight division of 145 lbs. which means he has to cut weight before every match. Cam is one of the toughest, most skilled people in MMA that I know personally. He is hard-working and He constantly puts 100% into everything. He constantly studies other professional fighters such as Anderson Silva the UFC Middleweight Champion, to improve on himself and it shows in his fights.

There have been countless times I’ve been frustrated with myself and wanted to quit. Cam has been a close friend to me and continued to push me to improve and not give up. He has been like a brother to me and doesn’t let me slack off on any training. He has motivated me to be a better fighter. Cam has neither an ego nor too much pride in giving me tips that he personally uses. My sparring has improved because of constant sessions with Cam.

In closing I have had years of experience with coaches in football. From that experience, I can honestly say that Rob and Cam are the best coaches I’ve ever worked with. Their skill, dedication & time have been spent on training me properly & improving my confidence as a fighter. If anyone were to ask me for a recommended trainer for Mixed Martial Arts, I would without any hesitation refer them to all my teammates at Absolute MMA, Rob Handley and Camrann Pacheco.

Absolute MMA's Student Highlight

Every month we’re going to be introducing you to a different member of Team Absolute. For those that don’t train at the gym regularly, we want you to learn some familiar faces before coming in, and for the regulars on the mat; we hope this will help you to learn more about your teammates. This month we’re going to share a little about Terrell Sanders AKA “T-Bone.”

Terrell has been training for about one year, and found our gym through a friend at work. He was interested in learning to fight Mixed Martial Arts, and based upon his friend’s recommendation, he gave our gym a try. After one week, he was hooked and is now a permanent fixture on the team.

Since starting at Absolute MMA he has been participating in almost everything we have to offer: Behring Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Kettlebells, and wrestling. Before training he had never participated in Martial Arts, but was doing bodybuilding and some light cardio, now he has serious aspirations to become a MMA fighter, and is constantly trying to learn new things from Rob and the other instructors at the gym. Terrell is constantly improving his skills by sparring, and just received his first two stripes on his white belt during Grand Master Flavio Behring’s visit. When I asked Terrell to describe the atmosphere at Absolute MMA the way he would to someone that has never trained at our facility he described it as a place that is a little bit of “heaven and hell.” He qualifies this statement by explaining that he has never felt so proud as he does when he accomplishes something new in the gym, whether it is a new submission, or improvement on his kicks, but each improvement is preceded by a lot of hard work and dedication. Regardless of how hard it may be to accomplish certain tasks, Terrell has an optimistic outlook and a positive attitude that is omnipresent during training.

Terrell has recently embarked on his educational career at the Salt Lake Community College and hopes to graduate and start his own fight brand and franchise one day. When Terrell isn’t at the gym he’s hanging out with his buddies or studying. We can always count on him for some good laughs after a hard day of training, and the Team wouldn’t be complete without this awesome athlete.

-this is a monthly addition written by Chelsea Kilpack. Thank you Chelsea!

Meet Chelsea Kilpack pt 2

Part 2 of our introduction to Chelsea Kilpack, one of the fine ladies training in our gym. Chelsea trains in both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing. Part 3 will showcase her indomitable attitude towards balancing her education, work, family and training. Maybe we'll see her devastating head kick that's the talk of many of her talents. The following videos were filmed recently and feature a rare look at Grand Master Flavio Behring sharing his knowledge at Absolute MMA.

Grand Master Flavio Behring seminar

Grand Master Flavio Behring returns to Utah

Hey Gang!

Grand Master Flavio Behring will be in Utah. As most of you know he spends a lot of time around the gym when he's here so you never know when he will be teaching. Try to arrange you schedules to be in the gym as much as possible in January. I look forward to seeing you all put your best foot forward in January.

-Rob

We’re implementing a dress code of sorts at the gym, kids! Starting January 1^st it is required that you wear an Absolute t-shirt while participating in kickboxing or no-Gi! If you are not wearing a Team shirt, you won’t be able to participate.

Shirts are on sale right now, until December 31^st.

^{Short sleeve t-shirts are $10.00 and long sleeve shirts are $15.00!!!}

^{Don’t delay, and buy shirts now! Also, Rob has managed to get a screaming deal on Vulkan Gis. Vulkan Gis are lightweight and dry quicker than most; they will be perfect for the summer! They are also pre-shrunk, so drying them won’t be a problem. Order them at the front desk with Rob or Camrann by December 31st!}

^{White Gi-$120}

^{Blue/Black Gis-$130}

UFC 107 at Lumpy's Downtown

Meet Chelsea Kilpack...

Hey Gang. I wanted to share something I recently came across killing some time learning more about the folks around the gym, to my surprise I came upon this wonderful account of someone in our gym and her first experience with our gym..... Meet Chelsea Kilpack!!!

First of all sorry for putting you on blast Chelsea, actually as I write this I'm envisioning her threatening me with a head kick, for the picture attached to this but wait til you see her most current photos :), as its been nearly a year training with us at Absolute MMA.

February of this year was a month that changed my life. I joined a mixed martial arts gym, Absolute MMA. My little brother (Braeden) had watched the fighting movie Never Back Down and started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu out of a small gym, with a guy that turned out to be a total whacko. When my mom pulled him out of the gym (which was actually a loading dock in an industrial complex,) he began researching for a new place to study; thankfully, he found Absolute.... read more here

Absolute Fighter Denver Merrifield-Nirva

Sorry for the delay folks, but here is the scoop on Denver’s fight!

Team Absolute’s, Denver Merrifield-Nirva had his first fight (and victory) at the Ultimate Combat Experience on November 7^th. Denver has overcome some minor hurdles on the path to the cage; shortly before a scheduled fight in June his arm was broken at a Muay Thai seminar, and the night before the UCE show, another fight was cancelled due to a lack of blood work completion from other fighters.

Taking the fight at the last minute proved to be a wise choice, and UCE was very lucky to have such a talented fighter step into their cage. Fighting at bantam weight (135lbs) he proved how strong his Muay Thai skills are and won the fight by TKO approximately two and one half minutes into the first round. His commitment to training and his unfailing determination were plain to see, on his feet and on the ground. Congrats to Denver and a big thanks to everyone on the Team that showed up to support him!

No-Gi Grappling/Submission Tournament

Hey Gang! There is an upcoming tournament in Heber; this is fairly short notice, but here is all of the information that's available:

Aggressive by Nature presents it's very first No-Gi Grappling/Submission Tournament
When:December 10th 2009 @ 6pm
Where: Wasatch County Special Event Center
415 South Southfield Road
Heber City, Utah 84032
For directions go to mapquest.com

No points and No time limit; Submission Match!

NEW SCHEDULE

Absolute Grapplers top male & female divisions

Absolute Grapplers top male & female divisions, score 31 points with only 6 competitors!!! Congratulations Gang!

Chamion Submission Challenge XIII
Western Regional No-Time-Limit Grappling Championship: November 14, 2009

Team Results
Overall Top Team
1st: Fusion Academy (Eddie Edmunds) = 43 points
2nd: BYU Jiu-Jitsu (Michael Pease) = 39 points
3rd: Absolute MMA (Rob Handley) = 31points
3rd: West Side Academy (Mark Johnson) = 31 points

Adult Top Team
1st: BYU Jiu-Jitsu (Michael Pease) = 39 points
2nd: Absolute MMA (Rob Handley) = 29 points
3rd: Fusion Academy (Eddie Edmunds) = 27 points

Title Champions
Absolute
Absolute Gi
1st: Ben Garner (Absolute MMA)
2nd: Fritz Borchardt (Paul Tom Academy)
3rd: Chris Eberly (Unified Jiu-Jitsu)

Men Gi
Middle Weight: < 185 lbs
1st: Ben Garner (Absolute MMA)
2nd: Tim Tcha (Mori Academy)
3rd: Josh Bateman (Throwdown Elite)

Men No-Gi
Feather Weight: < 145 lbs
1st: Wesley Clinton (Throwdown Elite)
2nd: Denver Merrifield-Nirva (Absolute MMA)
3rd: Chris Eberly (Unified Jiu-Jitsu)

Women Gi
Middle Weight: 145+ lbs
1st: Vanessa Alexander (Absolute MMA)
2nd: Julie Chamberlain (Champion Jiu-Jitsu)
3rd: Jessey Hester (BYU Jiu-Jitsu)

Women No-Gi
Middle Weight: 145+ lbs
1st: Vanesssa Alexander (Absolute MMA)
2nd Julie Chamberlain (Champion Jiu-Jitsu)
3rd: Kiera Holder (BYU Jiu-Jitsu)

Junior Gi
Division 7-8
1st: Isaiah Gonzalez (Fusion Academy)
2nd: Braeden Killpack (Absolute MMA)
3rd: Aaron Baxter (Champion Jiu-Jitsu)

Under-Belt Divisions
Beginner Men Gi
Light Weight: < 160 lbs
1st: Andrew Torrez (Mori Academy)
2nd: Ethan Estrada (Throwdown Elite)
3rd: Bret Gold (Absolute MMA)

Middle Weight: < 185 lbs
1st: Justin Showell (BYU Jiu-Jitsu)
2nd: Nathan Epperson (Absolute MMA)
3rd: Justin Imbler (UVU Jiu-Jitsu)

2-3 Absolute Fighters win! Cam wins by RNC!

Congratulations Fellas! It was a great night of fights, every fight on the card had dynamite written all over it! In the first undercard fight, Eduardo Rivera defeated Sean Whalen by knocking him out at 2:34 in the first round. Camrann Pacheco defeated Eddie Pelczynski with perfect execution of his game plan designed by coach Rob Handley, Cam landed a straight left that sent Eddie to the floor, followed up by some viscous ground and pound forcing Eddie to turn to his stomach while Pacheco cautiously followed up with dominant back mount and sinking in the RNC in just 1:34 seconds of the first round. Steven "Razor" Sharp lost a five-round, 25 minute unanimous decision to Champion Rad Martinez. American Whu-Hitu fighter, Josh "The People's Warrior" Burkman knocked out Brandon "The Murder" Melendez at 4:14 with a vicious right punch that sent Melendez to his back causing the ref to jump in and end the fight.

To read more about the fights click here

Absolute Fighters at Throwdown Showdown

Hey gang. Absolute MMA fighters Camrann Pacheco, Eduardo Rivera and Steven Razor Sharp return to the cage on Nov 20th at Throwdown Showdown. Camrann Pacheco faces Eddie Pelczynski in an exciting featherweight bout. Steven Razor Sharp returns to face current lightweight champion Rad Martinez in a much anticipated rematch. Eduardo Rivera faces Sean Whalen at welterweight in a undercard bout. Come out and support these guys and Utah MMA.

Absolute Fighter Koffi Adzitso wins at XC 13

New Welterweight Champion Koffi Adzitso defeated Tallon Torres in just 3:11 of the first round by Rear Naked Choke. Torres did not tap out and went unconscious and his recovery sent the hometown crowd into complete silence, as he came back to his senses, which brought the crowd to an applause.

To read more about the show click here

AKC CLASSIC 09

Congrats to the Absolute Kettlebell team. Rebecca Rodriquez and Pedro Sierra coached by Rob Handley got a first hand look at competition and the joy and pain of being on the lifting platform. The AKC Classic was a huge success, with many lifters achieving Rank! The women athletes probably outnumbered the men 2-1. Congrats ladies for an awesome performance. American Kettlebell Club Classic 2009 results here