MMA: Clinch explodes at start to win title

Keegan Norman (left) walks away in triumph as referee Peter Thomson puts the count on Tony Hosie during a novice kickboxing bout at the Caledonian gymnasium on Saturday night. Photo by Craig Baxter.

Peter Clinch (FI G) touched gloves with Johnnie Lowe (Ren Saddlier) and a minute later was crowned the ISKA South Island MMA (mixed martial arts) middleweight champion at the Caledonian gymnasium on Saturday night.

Thirteen MMA and kickboxing fights were held in front of a crowd of about 750.

Clinch, a 29-year-old Dunedin student, had hardly worked up a sweat when he caught Lowe with a right hook and pounced on him.

He then locked in a rear naked choke, giving Lowe no option but to tap out.

"I got a good shot in early and that stunned him, which put him in a defensive mode and I saw my chance and took it," Clinch said.

Lowe, who is based in Christchurch, offered no excuses.

"Peter exploded early with a combo. I was hit flush and was a bit dazed. Once he got on top he was just too strong."

Clinch will now get a shot at the New Zealand No 1 contender when he fights in Auckland in October.

Clinch remains undefeated in MMA, taking his record to five wins from five fights.

He won a national grappling title last year, started training in Muay Thai 14 months ago and has been training in Brazilian jiu jitsu for the past four years.

He said he fought in MMA for the challenge. It took a lot of courage to get in the cage.

"It's a big mind game and you have to look deep within yourself, draw on your inner strength and put everything into action."

The fight of the night was an MMA match between Dunedin's Jacob Van Der Hilst (FI G) and Matiu Thomas (Ren Saddlier) in the 80kg class. The fighters left nothing in the ring as both went toe-to-toe with some big punching and fine ground work. Van der Hilst won when he locked in an arm bar late in the second round, forcing Thomas to tap out.

Ben Rawston (Hammerhead) was beaten by a ferocious kicking and kneeing opponent in Mitch McKay (Wayne Vaega/FI G) in a kickboxing contest.

Brogan Anderson (Hammerhead) had substantial facial bruising and needed medical assistance after he was beaten in the third round of his MMA bout by Hemi Noble (Timaru Freestyle).

Both fighters contributed to a fierce contest before the referee had to stop the fight when Noble had Anderson pinned and was unleashing a flurry of punches.

Hammerhead Productions spokesman Matt Toa said he was happy with how the night went and, apart from a fire alarm going off late in the evening, it was a success. Toa said Hammerhead was looking forward to hosting another MMA event in Dunedin in October.