Photo by Todd Samson

Rich dominated the fight for all three rounds using aggressive takedowns and top control, and Winston had no answer for Rich’s strength and wrestling. Winston, a blue belt in BJJ did have answers for Rich’s submissions and Josh was unable to secure a finish on the Michigan fighter. This fight marks the only time that Rich has had to go the distance and was a very good test for the Dresden native.

Josh also showcased his stand-up as well and according to his coach Thomas Armstrong, it was his toughest test to date. Rich improves to 5-1 in his amatuer career and has now won two fights in a row in 2012.

There is no date set for his first title defense, and Rich will be looking to apply for his Pro application in the next few months.

Steele Takes Another Gold at The Ontario Open
Another jiu-jitsu competition on the weekend for Justin Steele, another gold medal. Such has been the ho-hum year for the 16-year old Gracie Barra Chatham star.

Steele competed in the prestigious Ontario Open BJJ championships this past weekend in Toronto in the Adult Blue Belt division.

There were 34 competitors in the division and Steele went an incredible 5-0 to take home the gold medal. He won three fights by points and two via submission finish on his way to taking home the top prize.

Steele went on to compete in the the Absolute division and beat the heavyweight silver medalist via triangle choke. He then found himself up against a man much bigger and heavier than he is in facing the Ultra Heavy Gold medalist. Steele did not shy away from the much bigger man, narrowly missed two sweeps and attempted three triangle chokes but was unable to put the big man away, eventually losing the match 4-0. His opponent went on to win Gold in the Absolute division.

Steele continues an incredible year on the mat and will now focus on the World Championships in Long Beach California at the end of the month. Two other Gracie Barra grapplers will join Steele at the worlds as Zach Fournier and coach Thomas Armstrong will also be competing in the event that takes place from May 31 to June 2.

Rich wasted no time in that fight as he came right out of the gate with punches, landed a solid takedown and quickly took Smith’s back. He beat Smith via rear-naked choke at 1:40 of the first round. It is that aggressive, all around game that has lead Rich to a 4-1 amateur record and opened up this opportunity to gain some gold on the weekend.

Josh will be facing 135-lbs champion Jake Lamb this Saturday, and according to Josh’s coach Thomas Armstrong, “The Ripper” is ready to go.

“Josh hasn’t really had any time off training since his last fight so his cardio and ability are still on point. This will be his toughest fight yet and we are looking forward to bringing the belt to Canada.”

Tilbury’s School of Hard Knocks Fighter Petahtegoose Moving Up

Also on the TXC card is Tilbury School of Hard Knocks fighter and Tilbury’s own champion Jo Petahtegoose. He is the current TXC 145-lbs title holder, but will be testing himself in the 155-lbs weight class in this fight and his title will not be on the line this weekend.

Medal Winners for Gracie Barra Chatham

Gracie Barra Chatham members competed in the prestigious Jean Jacques Machado BJJ Open in Windsor this past weekend and achieved some great results. GBC had five members entered into the competition and came home with five medals for their efforts.

In the Kid and Pre-Teen division’s, 12-year old Chase Mason won both his fights and took home the Gold medal, and 7-year old Noah McMann battled in two fights and took home the Silver.

In another impressive performance, 6-year old competitor Mitchell Barnes grappled against kids two belt levels higher than he is and was still able to take home some Bronze hardware.

In the Adult division of competition, 16-year old Gracie Barra grappling ace Justin Steele fought four tough battles to take home the Gold medal in the Adult Blue Belt division while Zach Fournier won Gold in his divison with two hard fought wins.

Gracie Barra Chatham competitors are in full Spring swing and next weekend, Justin Steele will continue his incredibly successful year and compete in the largest grappling competiiton in Ontario, the Ontario Open.

With over 1100 competitors entered last year, the Ontario Open is one of the largest, and fastest growing competition’s in Ontario and is quickly becoming a regular stop for all the top grapplers in Ontario.

The Open will take place on Saturday, May 12th and 13th at Seneca College in Toronto.

Chris Clements - Photo from UFC

Clements made an appearance in his hometown Monday and also visited Wallaceburg where he made a radio appearance. Clements now awaits his next fight, which is currently unscheduled, with the UFC. He signed a multi-fight contract with the world’s top MMA organization earlier this year.

Click play below to see the full interview with Chris Clements:

Clements fought in his first UFC bout Saturday defeating UFC veteran Keith Wisniewski by split decision. Clements suffered an early blow which split him open after Wisniewski took him down and worked the mat in side control and a mount.

Clements however dominated the standup part of the fight landing several solid punches, a knee, and a spinning back kick which sent Wisniewski to the mat late in the fight before the final horn sounded.

Clements won by a split judges decision 29-28, 28-29, and 30-27. Growing up in Tupperville and attending Lambton-Kent Composite School, Clements is the first Chatham-Kent product to fight in MMA’s top loop, the UFC.

Congratulations Chris.

Clements entered the fight with a 10-4 professional record with each of his wins coming by knockout, including a convincing win against longtime UFC veteran Rich Clementi late last year in Sarnia as a part of Meltdown in the Valley.

Following his fight in Sarnia, Clements, who hails from Dresden, Ontario signed a mutli-fight deal with the UFC.

Clements won Saturday’s fight by a split decision. The judges scored the fight 29-28, 28-29,and 30-27 for Clements.

Clements likely lost on the mat where he struggled on the night, but was the clear winner of the standup portion of his fight.

The preliminary card fight, although not televised, was streamed live on Facebook. With a UFC win to his name in his debut, Chris Clements will undoubtedly draw more attention for his next UFC fight.

No announcement has been made regarding Clements’ next fight.

Continue to follow CKSN for more on this story.

Chris Clements will make his UFC debut this weekend - Photo Ian Kennedy/CKSN.ca

Clements, who will fight this Saturday, April 21 at UFC 145 in Atlanta, Georgia, has been preparing for months, after learning he would make his UFC debut this year only days after winning a bout against UFC veteran Rich Clementi at Meltdown in the Valley.

Clements will fight another UFC veteran, Keith Wisniewski, who has a 28-12-1 record in his debut as part of a card that also features Jon Jones and Rashad Evans going toe to toe for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Chris Clements enters Saturday’s fight with a 10-4 professional record, with all 10 of his professional wins coming by knockout.

The matchup between Wisniewski and Clements was originally scheduled for a card in Montreal, but was shifted due to a scheduling change.

Clements will be the second fight of the night in front of the crowd at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Steve Eldridge training for his upcoming fight - Submitted Photo

Gracie Barra Chatham athlete’s Gain Success at the Niagara BJJ Open

Chatham-Kent athletes are in the full spring swing of things right now with two local mixed martial arts schools leading the way.

Four Gracie Barra Chatham athletes travelled to Niagara Falls this past weekend to compete in the Niagara Open BJJ. Under the tutelage of teacher Thomas Armstrong, competitors Justin Steele, Chris Halliday, Mike Halliday and Derek Vankoughnet all tested their jiu jitsu skills against some of the best athletes in Ontario.

Gracie Barra star Justin Steele continued his strong 2012 following up his great performance at the Arnold Classic last month by taking home a silver medal in the Adult Blue Belt Gi division, going 2-1 and being edged out on points in the final. Steele also gained a bronze medal in the No-Gi Submission Grappling division by going 3-1 with two wins coming via points and one by submission. Steele’s loss was on points. The results for Steele are made more impressive by the fact that he is competing in the adult division while still being only 16-years old.

Chris Halliday won a silver in his Gi BJJ division by going 4-1 on the day with his only loss coming on points in the gold medal match. Halliday’s division had 25 particiapants in it which makes his silver all the more impressive.

Next up for Gracie Barra Chatham is the 2nd Annual Jean Jacques Machado Open on May 6th, in Windsor, then on May 12th, Josh “The Ripper” Rich fights for the TXC 135-pound amateur title in Michigan.

Redemtion MMA’s Steve Eldridge Set To Fight This Friday In Michigan

Chatham Kent amateur athlete and Redemption MMA fighter Steve Eldridge makes his return to the cage this Friday night April 20th, in Michigan as he takes on Zach Thomas in the Michigan Combat League.

The fight will be in the 170-pound division as part of an exciting 15-fight card with 2-championship title fights on it. Eldridge is 3-1 in his early amateur career and a win this weekend will keep him right in line as a contender in the division.

The fights start at 7pm at the Lincoln Manor at 25160 Outer Dr. Lincoln Park 48146. Full bar and concessions are available

Newly crowned MCL 125-pound champion and Redemption star Tyler Kirk is still recovering from injuries sustained in his last fight and will be defending his title in late June. His opponent is yet to be announced.

Chad Laprise Fighting at Bellator 64 - Photo by Jeff Kovack/JeffKovack.com

Laprise has built up an impressive 4-0 record by knocking out his opponents with his power but it was his ground game and wrestling defence that took over from there in this one. Laprise cooly sat up, scooted out and put his back on the cage to scale back up to his feet as the crowd roared their approval. Taveirne would not let go and jockeyed against the cage on Laprise, this time gaining the leverage to get the belly to belly take down.

With Laprise on his back again, it looked to be a very long and tough night for the Adrenaline Training Center athlete. It was then that Taveirne made a fatal mistake and Laprise was not to be denied Taveirne forgot poster up and out of danger for one brief second and Laprise seized the opportunity by slapping on a lighting quick triangle choke. The struggle ensued from there and with a bit of technical savy, Laprise sunk it in deep for the tap out win. It is a significant win for Laprise, as he adds a submission win to his undefeated 5-0 record.

Either way, Laprise is happy to get the finish. “The fight went well. I was looking for the KO but ended up getting a first round sub instead.” He told CKSN.ca after the fight.

“I trained really hard for this and it’s great to see things come together. This was hands down the biggest win of my life.”

Laprise came out of the fight relatively unscathed and will be looking to get right back in the cage at another local show in the very near future.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA and MMA Editor at CKSN.ca. Also a guest-blogger on Sportsnet.ca

Wakabayashi discusses Chris Clements, Chad Laprise, and other fighters coming up through the ranks in the Chatham-Kent MMA scene. As well, along with CKXS’ Jay Smith, Wakabayashi discusses the growth of MMA and the challenges the sport faces.

Click play below to listen to the full interview: