Issue 022

February 2007

We get many emails and letters each month from readers around the world, and we thought it high time that we not only start publishing these, but also rewarding the funniest, most interesting or downright bizarre letter that reaches us. 

Please send all emails to [email protected]. Postal submissions to be addressed to Fighters Only, i2 Media, 6 Charlotte Square, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 4XF. 

Dear Mr Machine, first of all congratulations on your appointment as IFL Coach. I am a 40-year-old Martial Artist, I have been practising Shotokan Karate for 23 years and still fight for the Welsh National Team at international level, and I also dip in and out of Aikido and judo. Yeah ok, so what I hear you say...?!

I have watched the UFC since it’s been available on sky and recently by accident stumbled across a MMA club in my area. I have been practising MMA alongside my Karate for approximately 8 months now (I have had a double knee surgery in that time but my fitness was so good thanks to MMA training I was back training within 2 weeks) and it has given me a new lease of life, I feel stronger, my fitness has gone up by at least 100% and I was fit to start with, my confidence is sky high. I am no stranger to confrontation as I have worked the doors and deal with it everyday in my job (prison officer) but I now feel so confident in hostile situations its unbelievable.

There are several of us now from our Karate club who train in MMA and we would just like to thank you for making Martial Arts "sexy" again through your efforts in bringing it to the public in an intelligent way via your magazine.

Thanks

Andy Phillips, Wales

Thanks for the comments Andy. Partly as thanks for your feedback and partly as an award for such an achievement (injury is a terrible thing to overcome) you are our Letter of the Month. We hope you enjoy your prize. 

Firstly well done on the mag! By far the best on the market. This is a question for The Machine or anyone else at the mag who can help really.

The lads I train MMA with and myself are getting to the stage where we would

really like to enter a MMA event/competition. We all train in various martial arts at various levels but have never competed at any level. What we are looking for is somewhere to get info on where we could start out and where the more amateur MMA events are held. I have tried getting the info from the internet but am not having much joy. If you could help out it would be much appreciated.

Thanks very much,

Tom, Hampshire

There are numerous amateur MMA competitions running up and down the UK, with the South of England regularly hosting a number of tournaments and events. You can continue to check our event diary in the news section, look on popular websites such as MMAuniverse.com for upcoming events or you can ask on the various MMA internet forums. 

Please can you tell the readers what is going on with "The Count" Bisping, we haven’t heard of him since he won his contract with the UFC. We would like to hear what he has been up to and who he is going to be fighting next. Big thanks from your Welsh fan base,

Kevyn Jones

Well Kevyn, as said in recent month’s news section Mike has been injured and has also suffered visa problems. He finally managed to overcome these obstacles and is scheduled to fight on December 30^th as part of the Tito/Chuck undercard, so that means by the time you read this he will have already fought! Please try to keep up! 

From the forums:

“I'm about as anti-religion and anti-government as you can be without being Jeff Monson”

Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller, posted on Ironlife

“Pink board shorts? Just when I was applauding women for participating for equal ferocity, they're going to go all "feminine" on us?” 

egrbvr, posted on mma.tv

Wes Sims 'High as a Kite'

I've been reading a magazine we get over here called 'Fighters Only' and I was gob smacked when reading an article about Wes Sims.

He recently fought and beat Kimo and talks about what happened to him after the fight. Apparently on his way back to his dressing room he said everything went all blurry and he spent the next 4 days laid out on his bed listening to underground music. He said he was told it was a drug-induced coma that was caused by something in Kimo's blood after he bled all over him.

Pardon my ignorance but WTF?!? I don't doubt Sims is telling the truth because he actually won the fight easily by all accounts, so has no reason to say it if it didn't happen.

But is that even possible? I mean we all know Kimo is badly juiced but I'd be scared of him even sneezing near me. Sims was comical in the interview though also saying 'I've begged him for a rematch, I'm gonna bottle it up and sell it next time'.

BootyDaddy, posted on Sherdog. 

Sorry to confuse you BD, but Sims was definitely joking! Surely the rest of the article should have given you a clue that he doesn’t take himself too seriously?