Photo By Sgt. Glen Baker | Spc. Michael Ferguson, a signal support systems specialist , Headquarters and...... read more read more
IRAQ - Three soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), emerged victorious in the mixed martial arts “Fight Night” event Sept. 18 at Memorial Hall on Contingency Operating Base Adder.
Spc. Tony Chien, Army direct ordering specialist, and a Long Beach, Calif., native, Spc. Michael Ferguson, signal support systems specialist, and an Inglewood, Calif., native, and Spc. Christopher Stafford, intelligence analyst, and a Buena Park, Calif., native, discussed strategy as well as the training involved to help them win their matches.
“I worked on striking, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu,” Chien said. His fight ended with a rear naked choke hold in the second round.
He also said that he ate a healthy diet. “I stayed away from processed food like white bread and pasta. I eat a lot of wheat bread, fruits, and vegetables,” Chien said.
Prior to his bout he described his fight strategy. “I will keep my distance – throw jabs. I’m planning to wrestle him to the ground, gain my position, and ground and pound.”
Ferguson, who won his match in the first round by technical knockout, described how he trained for the fight. “It was a lot of punches,” Ferguson said. “Stick and move. Jab. It was a lot of ground work and hard work.”
Stafford, who also won his match in the first round by TKO, used a similar strategy. “I want to stay up and just box with the guy – keep my distance – use my legs,” Stafford said. He also did vigorous workouts to help his stamina.
“I worked on my cardio. I did jump rope, spinning, and circuit workouts,” Stafford said.
Spc. Marco Alamillo, medical logistics noncommissioned officer-in-charge and a Redlands, Calif., native., Maj. Robert Matthews, commodities officer-in-charge and a Sacramento, Calif., native, and Sgt. Raymond Solis, an ammunition supply sergeant and a San Diego, Calif., native, were other HHC, 224th Sust. Bde. Soldiers who participated in the event.
Alamillo, who fought all three rounds with his opponent, described how he trained for the fight. “I did the same (as my last fight) – just a lot more sparring sessions,” said Spc. Alamillo. “That’s how I got this busted up nose and black eyes.”
He said that he too, ate a healthy diet. “I ate chicken, beef, pasta, rice, salad and vegetables,” Alamillo said. I stay away from all temptation junk food.” He said that he was less nervous going into this fight than his last one. “I’m used to the crowd now,” Alamillo said.
Matthews, who also fought all three rounds with his opponent, described how he trained for his fight. “I worked out at the gym five days a week with Master Sgt. Cutler and Sgt. 1st Class Oliveros,” Matthews said. “We went through some (submission) drills, punching bag and pads.”
He described his fight strategy. “My strategy is to strike first and try not go to the ground game,” said Matthews. “My strength is stand up.”
Solis, who body-slammed his opponent down to the mat in the first round, described his training regimen. “I trained in the gym five days per week, sometimes five times per day,” Solis said. “I cut down on my weight and became more flexible.
The three Soldiers from HHC, 224th Sust. Bde. who trained all six fighters are: Master Sgt. Steve Cutler, logistics readiness noncommissioned officer-in-charge and a Paso Robles, Calif., native, Sgt. 1st Class Oliveros, routing identification code geographical noncommissioned officer-in-charge and a Sun Valley, Calif., native, and Staff Sgt. Enrick Reyes, the commander’s driver and a San Diego, Calif., native. Oliveros focused on stand up fighting, Cutler emphasized ground fighting, and Reyes concentrated on jiu-jitsu techniques.
Cutler described what the trainers did differently from the July Fight Night to train the fighters. “We emphasized a lot on striking and getting and maintaining position on the ground,” Cutler said. “We tweeked our training slightly by doing this, but we pretty much stick to our program.”
He described how the fighters improved their skills. “We really kept it simple as far as ground work,” Cutler said. “We focused on different ways to control from the ground - which did help Stafford as well as the other fighters. Sgt. 1st Class Oliveros really worked hard with the guys on their stand up, and as you saw, it paid off.
Myself and Staff Sgt. Reyes kept them focused on their ground game for maintaining control and ground and pound. We saw that the guys really focused and listened to us from the corner, which enabled them to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes.”
He explained the new training and fighting techniques that the trainers will use with their fighters for the next fight night. “We will focus a bit more on cardio. We do quite a bit already, but you can never have too much cardio. I see us sticking with our program.”
Oliveros described how Stafford and the other fighters improved on their skills. “His ground game developed much more, but most important of all, he remained calm and stayed focused,” he said. “All the guys just did what we trained them in and gave a superb performance.”
He added that the training will continue to evolve as they look towards the next round of bouts.
“I think the ground game seems to be the preferred choice,” Oliveros said. “So that would be the area of concentration for the fighters. For the November fights - hopefully some new blood will step up to the challenge.”
He also had a special message for Fight Night fans.
“Thanks to those who came out to support these young guys,” Oliveros said. “It builds their confidence when the crowd is there to cheer them on.”
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2010 10:16 |
| Story ID: | 57002 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 10 |
This work, Competition, teamwork, and hard work produce victorious Soldiers at fight night, by SGT Glen Baker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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