Issue 030

October 2007

Remember, our favourite letter gets a FO T-shirt, so don’t forget to include your contact details in your letter / email. Our postal address is 6 Charlotte Square, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 4XF or you can email us at [email protected] 

Dear Fighters Only,

I was pleasantly surprised to find the latest copy of Fighters Only (#29) on my doormat yesterday, especially as I had not paid for it… I mean don’t get me wrong I absolutely love getting stuff for free, but someone must have got (or found) the request cheque I sent last month for a back issue of number 26 which you had already sent me a few weeks ago, (thanks for that by the way) and thought that it was this issue that I was after.

Anyway, please find attached a cheque for issue number 29. I wouldn’t want to cheat you out of £3.75, as Ian freeman is far too large and scary…

Besides you have saved me from having to badger the newsagent across form my office for days and days on end to find out “where my magazine has got to” and then having to painstakingly watch him thumb through his order folder under ‘F’ past all the fishing mag’s, fairy mag’s and fast car mag’s before finally waving a copy of some dodgy nasty, paper thin, cheap looking “Fighter” magazine at me with a triumphant grin on his face like he’d just found the holy grail. It would be at this point I inform him in a polite (but flat) tone “no thanks, that’s not the right one again, you said it would be here last week, I’ll come back in a few days”.

So thanks for the copy, here’s the cheque and I’ll be sorting out my subscription today, as I’ve been buying the magazine since issue 1 its about time, at least this way I’ll never miss a copy.

Cheers

Damien – www.jkdnorthampton.co.uk

Just writing to help answer a question posted by 'Itokuda' in your July issue (#27). I'm not positive as to what this reader's definition of an 'airplane spin' is, but I believe I witnessed something that could classify. It was on March 4th, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio at a ‘HookNShoot’, put on as part of the 'Arnold Classic' (this is an annual mega-fitness and bodybuilding weekend created by Arnold Schwarzenegger). The match was between a friend of mine, Heath Pedigo, and his opponent, Andy Majors. It began quickly with Majors on his back pulling guard, and Heath standing up while locking his arms around Majors legs.

In a split second Heath leaned back and spun his opponent off the ground in a complete 360! Majors was air born for the entire duration, but instead of launching him out of the ring a la pro-wrestling, Heath fell back into a perfect heel hook for the win. It was one of the most incredible moves I've ever seen in a fight, and it took everyone, including Majors, completely by surprise. Hope that info is useful to your reader. Although not the most conventional technique, it has been used successfully. Thanks for your time and your great mag.

Chauncey Clouse,

Evansville, Indiana, USA

Hi Chauncey, good to hear that someone is testing the boundaries of what is possible in an MMA fight! The only other examples that we know of took place in Japan – the ever-flamboyant Genki Sudo has done it in a few of his fights, and Takaharu Murahama submitted Chris Brennan with an ankle lock after swinging him around a few times! 

Just couldn’t put down issue 28, been waiting for the day of issue 29’s release, good times. Loved all the articles, must have read them about 10 times each! Can't wait to get my hands on the new issue tomorrow morning. Keep it up guys, you’re doing a great job of spreading the MMA word. 

Jim, UK via email. 

I would like to congratulate you on your awesome publication. Fighters Only is the best magazine that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I have been following MMA for the last six months or so and this magazine helped me understand what was going on in the cage / ring, who's who in the MMA world and helps keep me up to date with all the news.

In the interest of keeping you the best MMA magazine in the UK (possibly the world), how about including a schedule of all the pro / semi-pro / amateur events around the UK? It seems to me that although the major organisations are mainstream, the smaller companies seem to operate under the radar and I find it very hard to find any local events. I find this very frustrating as I really enjoy going to live events, no matter how big or small, as there is an unmistakable atmosphere that you can only find at an MMA event. I hope you take this under consideration as there really is no beating attending a live MMA event!

Dale Smith, via email. 

Dale, we know what you mean, live events are hard to beat! We did at one stage used to run a calendar of upcoming events but due to the changing nature of the magazine it is no longer featured. If you check our website you can find details of upcoming events local to you. 

Thank you so much for the September 2007 issue 29, and the Girlfriend’s Guide!  It was brilliant! No more bothering my boyfriend who is competing in MMA tournaments. Now I feel I can relate (much more) with him! Knowing the rules is so important, as well as who is who!

Miss Z Jacota, via email

I am a wife and I really love MMA, and I really enjoyed your Girlfriend’s Guide piece, but I got to tell you, you left out the one question every girl in the world would ask after watching a fight, how the F*CK do you lose 20lbs in two days?

Thanks

The Missus (Jennifer Cowell), via email

I was wondering if you have considered publishing a monthly training schedule for MMA as I know I have difficulty getting a good conditioning balance while training and it would be interesting to read your trainers opinion.

Thanks for a great magazine.

Keep up the good work.

Lorenzo Fraquelli, via email.