Meet Marcus Wan, a long time member of Ultimate Martial Arts. He went from learning MMA for the first time at our gym to being able to successfully compete against tough competition. If you’ve been following our blog for quite a while, you’ll remember that he took part in the NAGA (North American Grappling Association) grappling tournament a few months ago. We did a quick interview with him recently so that he could tell us all about his growing experience:

As Marcus says in the video, “it’s about how hard you try”. If you’re willing to put in the effort and dedication, then you’ll for sure see positive results. We at Ultimate Martial Arts can provide the help you need as long as you take the time to make a difference in your life by coming into our facilities to train / workout. You have nothing to lose too considering you’ll be getting a FREE trial! From Marcus’ experience, our facilities helped get him to a competitive level which got him a silver medal in his first time ever competing. Not only did he achieve satisfaction from winning a grappling medal, but he obtained great fitness results out of it as well considering the MMA training works your full body as well as your conditioning. Also MMA is a great self defence trait to learn that’ll help you get out of a variety of different worse case situations if you have no interest in being a competitor of the sport. Click the link below this post for details on a FREE Trial and to see if we offer MMA at your preferred location. If we don’t, keep in mind that our Muay Thai Kickboxing is superb (as clearly evident from our untouchable success) as well and is offered at all of our locations which will strongly help out your MMA stand-up + overall fitness. We look forward to helping all of you achieve your goals through our gyms!

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Meet Andrew Lee who is a member of Ultimate Martial Arts. He has gone through a remarkable weight loss journey just from training at one of our gyms. We did a quick interview with him recently so that he could tell us all about it:

As you can see in the video, Andrew loss over 200 pounds within a year of working out at Ultimate Martial Arts. His dedication to come workout at one of our gyms has changed his life and is still currently changing his life. We congratulate Andrew on his fitness goals thus far and we’re very happy to have been able to help him achieve a healthy and active lifestyle every step of the way! We hope Andrew was able to inspire all of you who ever felt like you couldn’t do something!

You don’t need anymore proof than this to show you that anyone can achieve anything they put their mind towards! We can and definitely want to help each and everyone of you reach your fitness goals! Whether you’re wanting to be a top level martial artist, learn self defense, lose weight, gain strength/conditioning, or maintain being fit, we have all the resources to help you accomplish any of these goals! All it takes is the little motivation to get off your computer chair and try out one of our gyms for FREE! You can easily get started just by clicking the link at the bottom of this post and selecting your preferred location!

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From the article:
As one of the most prominent fighters in the region, Valtellini was eager to make a mark for himself  on anational level. The continual criticism of the East Coast’s ability to compete with the West’s from West Coast based fighters and fans, was answered. Not by a blog or through an interview, but in the ring, at 2:46 of the first round of the evening’s main event to be precise.
You can read the entire article (which is a good read) and see additional photos from the fight HERE.

When Joseph got back home to Canada, we caught up with him recently at our Ultimate Martial Arts Scarborough gym location for a quick interview on his post-fight thoughts and comments. Check that out in the video below:

As Joseph says in the video, the win over Yarborough shows how superior Ultimate Martial Arts‘ training system is. You don’t need any more evidence after seeing how well Team Ultimate fighters like Troy Sheridan, Matt Speciale, and Joey Aquino have been doing. As we said in the previous post, we have the resources to help you obtain amazing fitness goals, become a top level fighter, or even both. All it takes is the dedication to step into our gyms to achieve it!

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From the article:
Yarborough should be the toughest test of Valtellini’s young career. Yarbrough typically fights in the 175lb weight class and packs power in his fist and feet. Valtellini is known for his power, but has yet to take on an opponent the size of Yarborough. None of Valtellini’s fights have gone the distance and he keeps a fast pace throughout his fights as opposed to Yarborough who is more methodical in his approach. Valtellini should be able to out work Yarborough throughout the fight, but needs be careful because one strike from Yarborough could change the fight in a heartbeat. Valtellini won’t be able to finish Yarborough, who has yet to be stopped in his pro career. Instead Valtellini will have to settle for a decision win to keep his perfect record in tact.
You can read the entire article HERE.

Yarborough was definitely going to be a hard test for Valtellini considering the amount of experience he has and the fact that he has never been finished in his career. He even had Kru Phil Nurse (most recognizable as being George St Pierre’s Muay Thai coach) in his corner.

As the fight started, Valtellini worked the leg kicks well. Soon a big straight right hand dropped Yarborough, but he was still able to answer the ref’s count. It was clear that Yarborough was in trouble and the worst was yet to come. Yarborough was then cornered and Valtellini landed a huge left hook + right uppercut combination to win the fight by knockout at 2:45 of the first round!  This pushes Joseph Valtellini‘s record to 6-0 and he is the first person to finish Shawn Yarborough in a match. The prediction (from the article above) was correct on one thing, Valtellini winning the fight, but the fight definitely didn’t goto a decision! We’re all very proud of the outstanding performance displayed by our very own Joseph Valtellini!

This is not only a huge win for Joseph Valtellini but it’s a huge win for Team Ultimate as well! With the winning streak from all of the Team Ultimate members, it shows that anyone who steps into an Ultimate Martial Arts gym can achieve the high level of martial arts as long as you’re dedicated enough to come into our gyms to train. It also shows that you can achieve a high level of fitness by training at our gyms as well if competition isn’t your thing, since having an excellent fitness level plays a great factor into our members’ success with their fights. With that being said, we hope to see all of you at our gyms more frequently! if you aren’t a member yet, check out the link at the end of this post! If you already are a member, be sure to forward the link at the end of this post to your friends and get them to come out!

Don’t forget to congratulate Joseph the next time you see him at one of our Ultimate Martial Arts gyms!

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The people over at Muay Thai Authority wrote an article about this upcoming fight.
From the article:
“I am really looking forward to making a statement in my match with Shawn. I am training harder and smarter than ever and feel ready for new challenges against notable opponents like Shawn” said Joseph. “A win against Shawn will allow me to get those larger fights and show that my name belongs as one of the top in North America. This fight is great for North American Muay Thai as it is allowing the top fighters from the East and West to compete, and showcase high quality Muay Thai.”
You can read the entire article HERE.

If you’ve been coming into the Ultimate Marital Arts gyms, you might have noticed Joseph training really hard for this upcoming fight. He is well prepared for battle and we all wish him the best of luck! Additional details for tomorrow’s event can be seen HERE. We’ll be posting the results of the fight afterwards, so stay tuned to our blog!

Additional training photos can be seen HERE.

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As you know from the previous blog post below, 3 members of Team Ultimate had fights in Upstate New York over the weekend. We are happy and proud to say that Team Ultimate came out on top!

Unfortunately Reza Saber‘s opponent did not show up. Reza did train very hard for this fight even though it was taken on short notice. We look forward to seeing him get a chance to compete in the near future.

Joey Aquino fought very hard to look for a finish. He used good crisp punches and strong low kicks to control the outside. Once he found this was his strength, he worked to keep the fight at that range to put combos together.  The fight ended in a 3 round unanimous decision win against a skilled and more experienced opponent.

Matt Speciale fought a much larger opponent who weighed in at 173, while he will usually fight at 160. During the fight, he dropped his opponent with a high kick in the 1st round and with low kicks later in the fight. Even though Matt was the smaller fighter, he was able to dominate the outside striking and landed some powerful straight knees during the clinch war.  Matt won unanimous decision to become the new USMTA champion!

Matt had a few things to say after his title win:

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please click on the link below to cast your vote.

http://muaythaipreservationproject.org/north-american-muaythai-fighter-of-the-year-award/

Here is a quick vid of Troy who is competing on Dec 3rd in NYC and of Joseph who is competing for the #1 Contender against Sean Hinds on Dec 10th, also in NYC.

Over in Edmonton, we were gearing up for a big night of bouts at the Aviation Hangar. The venue seated approx 500 Muay Thai fans, with even more room for spectators to stand. The first few bouts ended quickly and the night was off to a good start!

Time for the Co-Main event of the evening! Despite having a cold, Alex was focused and as ready as he could be. The fight went back and forth as both athletes exchanged punches and kicks till the end of the 5th round. His opponent of similar experience was the hometown favourite and had edged out a decision declaring him the winner. We are all very proud for Alex still as he still had a good outing while he was sick.

We had to rush back to the locker room as we had to prep Troy for the Main Event of the Night which was the next bout following a brief intermission.

As his walkout song came on and we walked out to the ring, it almost seemed as there was nobody in the hangar at all. The crowd was saving their applause and screaming for Troy’s opponent Hal, who is the current CMTC Western Canadian Champ and Hometown Fave.

Troy’s composure, his stamina, his power, and technique were all put on display as he took the Unanimous decision victory making Troy the NEW CMTC-A CANADIAN CHAMPION! I’m not sure if you are all aware but it is a difficult task to get the upperhand from the judges when you are competing against the Hometown Champion in a title bout. Troy showed his class by raising his opponents hands demanding a huge applause from the crowd and they both received a huge ovation.

A BIG congratulations goes out to all of Team Ultimate and a special thanks to those who came out to support!

If you see the guys in the gym, please congratulate them both for being such amazing ambassadors of YOUR team. Remember that they are always willing to help you out if you have any questions about competing or if your are just a recreational student and would like more help with your technique and training.

-Team Ultimate

PS. You can see more pics by joining our facebook group http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2259757206