Video: Jersey wins first MMA 'Clash of the Islands'

Monday 10 July 2017

MMA fighters from the Brazilian Power Team got the best of their Madeiran counterparts this weekend helping Jersey come out victorious in the first 'Clash of the Islands.'

Three of the four fights were won by Jersey - but islanders were not as lucky in the K1 boxing matches losing both against their opponents from Liverpool.

The evening hadn't started on the best foot for Jersey fighters with Alan Wilk losing out to Sérgio Marciél. The islander gave a good fight during all three rounds leading the referees to make a split decision to give victory to his opponent.

Pictured: The first fight of the evening was won by Sergio Marciel (Knuckleheads MMA) against Alan Wilk (BPT Jersey).

Bernardo Garcia from Jersey Taekwondo then won by k.o against Alex Gil. Fabio Beko won by t.k.o after the referee decided that his opponent Octavio Castro couldn't continue safely.

The most impressive fight of the four was delivered by Joao Sousa. After losing his first fight and missing out on a second one after his opponent dropped out in the previous Rumble on the Rock event, the young man fought extremely hard against Felipe Silva. The Madeiran proved to be a difficult fighter but, with the crowd cheering for him, Joao won by unanimous decision. He made his coaches proud with one of them saying it was as proud a moment for him as winning a black belt.

The crowd gathered in the Queen's Hall at Fort Regent was certainly invested in the fights. They cheered and screamed to try and push the local fighters to victory all evening. It wasn't even though for the K1 boxers, Laura Yazid from Temple Fitness and Eddie McCann from Jersey TKD who both lost against athletes from Phoenix club in Liverpool. Laura lost by referee stoppage after suffering from a heavy blow to her nose while Eddie lost by ko.

Pictured: Fabio Beko (BPT Jersey) won by tko against Octavio Castro (Knuckleheads MMA).

The main event of the evening, which opposed LG Barret from GBCI to Adbulaye Djalo from Knuckleheads MMA, saw Jersey come victorious again. The local athlete won by unanimous decision prompting loud cheers from the audience.

Members of the public also got the opportunity to step on the ring for sumo fights for charity. Even Eddie and Miro, two of the coaches from BPT, put on the sumo suits at the end of the evening to provide some entertainment. The funny confrontations had the audience, and the sumo fighters, in stitches and proved to be a light-hearted interval.

The first Clash of the Islands proved to be a successful night and while the team will now be focusing on the next White Collar event, schedule for 2 December, there might be an opportunity for another one soon. Mike Cañas said that the event could become an annual one, with different islands taking part, in the same format as the Island Games.