Future Champion Fight Night - 20

The Art of War Fight Team capped off a whirlwind week of fights (War of Heros in Santa Clara, Strike Force in San Jose and then Fight Night in Vegas all in 1 week) and put on another dominating performance at Master Toddy's "Future Champion Fight Night-20" in the fight capitol of the world Las Vegas, NV on this past Saturday Night, 6/28/08. The team went a perfect 6-0 against some of the best fight teams from around the country.

You can view the results here:

http://mastertoddy.com/RISINGSTAR18RESULTS.HTML

Coach Kirian gets Amber gets ready for her debut 

1st up was Amber Pope, making her fight debut. Amber fought a tough girl out of Chicago and won a unanimous decision against her more seasoned opponent. Great 1st fight Amber, the team is very proud of you :)!

Next up was Naline Sar, this was Naline's 3rd fight and her confidence grows every time. Naline fought an opponent from "The Lab" in Arizona. This match was very exciting with Naline and her opponent putting an exciting show. In round three Naline really put the pressure on her opponent and secured her victory. 

MJ "Clubber" Hamid fought next, this was MJ's 2nd fight and his improved conditioning definitely showed. MJ fought a more experienced opponent out of Master Toddy's Lionheart Gym and these two went at it very aggressively. After a knockdown in the 1st round, MJ was able to compose himself and takeover the fight at the end of the 1st round, after that there was no looking back. MJ dropped his opponent to the canvas on multiple occasions with vicious hooks to the head over the next 2.5 rounds and was able to win the decision.

Eric Faria was up next and he put on the most dominant performance of the night. This was Eric's 5th fight and he is just now tapping into his potential. Eric overwhelmed his opponent out of Excel Studios in Vegas with his Muay Thai technique and scored countless times with "7" of Muay Thai's "8" limbs (no elbows allowed). Eric always putts on an exciting show and did not fail to disappoint in this bout.

Coach Kirian and Jesse working Eric's Corner

Tom "Grimm" Villareal fought next and quickly became a fan favorite. Tom, who is 43 years young, fought a tough opponent out of The Lab from Arizona. Tom's opponent was, bigger, younger (in his 20's), etc....what's that saying..."old age and".... well you get the picture. What ever advantages Tom's opponent seemed to have went out the window very quickly when Tommy took the fight to him from opening bell to ending bell. The crowd was on their feet through out this fight and Tom capped the fight off with his crowd pleasing "Spinning Hook Kick of Death" and won a unanimous decision. Congrats Tom, you deserve it.

The last fighter who fought for us was Big Eric Lupercireo, this was Eric's 2nd fight, and he fought another game opponent out of Master Toddy's Lionheart Gym. Eric was gunning for the clean sweep for the team and brutalized his opponent with devastating leg kicks and overhand rights. Great way to cap off the night Eric!

Another great night of fights put on by Master Toddy, the AOW fight would like to thank Master Toddy and his team for always putting on great cards and inviting us out. Thanks to Coach Kirian and Coach Jivoni for getting the fighters ready for this dominant performance. A special thanks to Jesse Gillespie for traveling all the way to Vegas the night after his Strike Force bout to help corner the fighters. 

Finally, a great big thanks to all the ASD students, family and friends that traveled all the way to Vegas to support our team. You guys and gals are incredible!

The DVD's of the fights will be available soon. You can get them from Master Toddy's website directly.

MJ and Jesse showing "too much love" in Vegas!

"War of Heros"-Santa Clara Convention Center

On Saturday June 21st 2008, X Fight in conjunction with Fairtex and the United States Muay Thai Federation (USMF) held their "War of Heroes" Fight Card at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The Art of War Fight Team had 2 Fighters on the card and a ton of fans in the stands for a great night of authentic Muay Thai action.

                     Coach Kirian wrapping Garth's hands before his amateur debut

1st up was a Garth Robbins, making his amateur debut, Garth did a great job for his 1st fight and was fighting a tough opponent from VIP MMA. Unfortunately Garth's fight went the distance and he "lost" a close 3 round decision, but he "won" our hearts ;). Head up Garth we are proud of you for your warrior spirt!

                          Bryan after his victory with Coaches Kirian and Jivoni

Next up was Bryan Petro, this was Bryan's 2nd amateur fight. Bryan fought a very game opponent from FSA in San Francisco but was just too dominate for him. Bryan put on a clinic during his fight, dropping his opponent to the canvas on multiple occasions with kicks, punches and knees and claimed a well deserved victory. Look for big things out of Bryan as he continues to excel as a fighter and climb in the rankings.

Thank you to Coach Kirian and Coach Jivoni for prepping the fighters and fight team member Jesse Gillespie for helping in the corner during the bouts. A heart felt thanks goes out to the ASD students who bought tickets and came out to support the team during this exciting event. A final thanks goes out to X Fight, Fairtex and the USMF for putting together this fantastic card and having our fighters on the card. We look forward to their next event!

SF Asian Street Festival Fundraiser

On Saturday May 17th 2008, the Art of War Fight Team came out in force to fight for a good cause at the Asian Street Festival Fundraiser in Japan Town, San Francisco, CA. Congratulations to all the fighters who came out to fight; Eric L., Naline, "Evil" Jai, MJ, Daniel, Tom, John H. and Jonathan, you fought exceptionally well and made the team proud.

     Naline lands a stiff jab!

A big thanks to all the ASD students who came down to support our fighters during this great event. On a final note kudos to Kru Sam and the his team for putting on the event and inviting the team. Swadee Krup!!!!

World Combat Sports Challenge

The World Combat Sports Challenge (WCSC) held it's 2nd event this past Saturday night, April 26th 2008 in San Francisco, CA at the Kezar Pavilion. There were almost 30 fights, with 60  fighters from around the state hungry for the 1st Amateur Muay Thai show in Northern California this year. The Art of War Fight Team had 3 fighters on the card ready to put on a show.

The 1st fight of the night, turned out to be the "Fight of the Night" in most peoples eyes, with our own Eric Faria taking on seasoned Caley Scott from Combat Fitness. Eric took this fight on short notice, as 2 prospective opponents for Caley back out as the fight came closer. Caley is a VERY talented fighter from a great camp so the fact that nobody wanted to fight him made Eric want the fight that much more.

These two warriors fought a fantastic fight and offered an excellent showing of their respective Muay Thai skills landing blow after blow and they kept coming for more.

Eric lands a BIG left hand 

The best review of the fight can be found on the WCSC web site, here:

http://www.worldcsc.net/news/news.php?id=79

Coaches Kirian, Jivoni and Eric in between rounds

As we have posted many times, Eric always has exciting fights and this was no exception. Round after round he pushed the pace and stalked Caley down, but to Caley's credit even though Eric pushed the pace, Caley did not crack, his technique was crisp and his timing was better that night. As a result, Caley won a close, but well deserved decision. Great job Eric we know your itching for a re-match :).

Eric and Caley exchange punches

The next AOW fighter up was Mat King. This was Mat's amateur debut and he was fighting a tough opponent out of Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance who outweighed him by about 30 pounds. 

Mat lands a vicious kick to the body

Mat's opponent came out hard in the 1st round, but did not have alot in the gas tank. Mat was able to take advantage of his superior conditioning and turn it in to superior technique. Mat completely dominated his opponent in the 2nd round resulting in a TKO victory for Mat and the team. Excellent work Mat!

The final Art of War Fight team member fighting on the card was fan favorite Brandon Carey who stepped up on short notice to fill in for an injured fighter. Brandon is game fighter and even though he wasn't able to put in any where near full training camp, Brandon took the fight as it was for the CA State WCSC Cruiserweight Title. 

Brandon's opponent Aaron Smith fights out of Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance and he proved himself to be a very tough fight for Brandon. Brandon was clearly ahead on the score cards going into the 4th and final round, but his lack of proper training time and the resulting fatigue caught up to him in the last round. After it was all said and done, while many in attendance thought that Brandon had done enough to win the fight, the judges awarded a "Split Decision" victory to Brandon's opponent. The fight was very exciting and could have gone either way, unfortunately it just didn't go Brandon's way this time :(. 

The Fight Team is extremely proud of Brandon for stepping up and taking the fight on short notice and even though he was exhausted, he never quit and showed true warrior spirit. Brandon is the complete package.... look for big things from him when he fight agin later this year.

As always, thanks to the team Coaches Jivoni Jordan, Eric Kolesar, Herb Cody and Kirian Fitzgibbons for getting the fighters ready, thanks to all the fans that came out to support the team and of course the WCSC promoters for putting on the card and inviting us to fight. We look forward to the next event in August!

Master Toddy Seminar

Master Toddy Seminar at World Team USA in San Francisco, CA

Coach Kirian was honored to help Master Toddy and Kru Sam teach a two day Muay Thai seminar at Team USA this past weekend. There were over 50 excited participants who attended Master Toddy's 1st seminar in California in many years. The Team USA crew was great to work with and we look forward to working with our extended "Toddy" family again very soon. Great job guys and gals!

Pat Miletich MMA Seminar = Huge Success!

Miletich MMA Seminar 3/28/08 & 3/29/08

MFS-San Jose was proud to host Pat Miletich for his 1st ever Seminar in Northern California. 

As the only MFS affiliate in Nor Cal we were very excited that over 50 participants attended the two day event with Pat. It was a great mix of students, with members of  our MFS-San Jose Fight team, professional and amateur fighters, coaches, and recreational athletes from around the state. If anyone had any doubts, they learned quickly why Pat is considered the best MMA Coach in the world. The feedback has been tremendous.

Pat teaches the jab

Day One focused on Stand Up, with Pat reviewing the basics of Boxing for MMA and how to make it part of your overall MMA game. Pat methodically went through the MFS Stand Up curriculum and insured that each attendee received personal attention from him.

Pat watches Muay Thai World Champion Jenna Castillo work

Day Two, focused on wrestling and grappling. Pat went through a variety of takedown options and finished with an emphasis on leg locks and we wrapped with a heavy session of sparring and conditioning.

Pat teaching takedowns

Thanks to everyone who came down to support the seminar and a huge thanks to Pat for clearing his busy schedule and working with the team. We look forward to having Pat back again next year.

Pat shows Kirian some love :)

VEGAS BABY!

Future Champion Fight Night - Las Vegas, NV 2/23/08

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, usually ;). The Art of War Fight Team had another great night at the Future Champion Fight Night at Master Toddy's World Famous Gym on this past Saturday night. The team went 3-1 against some of the top fight teams from around the country.

Brian Petro was phenomenal in his fight debut winning his fight via TKO (with a body shot) in the 2nd round against a game opponent for "The Lab" in Arizona. Jesse Gillespe put in a dominate performance against his opponent from Ken Han's "Striking Unlimited" winning a unanimous decision. Eric Faria put on quite a show.... showing great versatility and a dominate clinch game against a tough opponent for the "Xyience" Training Center in Las Vegas. The fight was so exciting it was voted "Fight of the Night". With over 30 fights on the card and fighters from around the country that is an excellent accomplishment. Unfortunately, Lil Rock lost a tough fight via a decision against a very good opponent out of Meijero Gym in Los Angeles, CA. You'll get him next time Rock!

All the fighters did a great job in representing the fight team in this national tournament and the winners will be invited back for the finals in the summer. Thanks to all the Art of War Fight team fans that traveled all the way to Vegas to support the team. Your the best.

Great job to the coaches Jivoni Jordan and Kirian Fitzgibbons for getting the team ready and thanks to Edgar and Stan for helping with prepping and corning the fighters with Coach Kirian.

Finally a big thank you to Master Toddy for inviting the team to the card and putting on a first class show.

Strike Force Young Guns II - Jesse Wins!

Congratulations to MFS Fighter Jesse Gillespe for Winning his Pro MMA Debut at Friday's StrikeForce Young Guns II Event at the San Jose Civic Center.

Jesse fought an exciting fight and won a unanimous decision against David Martin from Undisputed Gym.

Thank you to StrikeForce and West Coast Productions for this having us at this event. Most importantly a heartfelt thank you to the hundreds of fans who came to support the show and the Art of War Fight Team. 

Finally great job to Jesse's coaches; Kirian Fitzgibbons, Jivoni Jordan and Stan Kendricks for getting Jesse ready for the fight. Way to go MFS-San Jose and the Art of War Fight Team!

Kirian Coaching at Master Toddy's Camp

Master Toddy, Stephan Bonner, Kirian, Anthoney Brown and Master LukChang

Stephan has been in Vegas training his Thai Boxing with Master Toddy and his team

in preperation of his next UFC Fight with Matt Hamill. Kirian was honored to help.

Kru Kirian spent the week of January 7th-11th at Master Toddy's Training Camp in Las Vegas, NV. As always, Kirian was honored to work with Master Toddy and spent the week helping Master Toddy train MTIA instructors from around the country for their Instructor Certifications. Kirian looks forward to supporting Master Toddy in helping to grow the MTIA in the United States.

"During my seminar I had Kirian Instruct my own fighters and Muay Thai team. All of my people complimented him so much. They asked if he could stay! He was a great leader with my students and well deserving of his MTIA Kru certification. Congratulations!"
--Grand Master Toddy