UFC 304 - Time takes us all
Yes I'm bitter about Leon losing, here's why.
Welcome one welcome all, I’m buzzing to be back writing on this wonderful platform and I’ve got a bee in my bonnet with UFC 304. Plus some company & product updates from us and tonnes more. Let’s dive in!
UFC 304
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll probably be aware that UFC 304 took place this past weekend. It was on our doorstep in Manchester, England (a 2hr drive from us?) and, much like the rest of the MMA community, opted not to go due to the start time being ridiculously late. Why was this? So that the US market didn’t suffer from early PPV start times. Which, as a businessman, I understand. The US PPV market is stacked, as was the card. However what does it mean for the athletes themselves?
Dana White complained in the post fight press conference about there being 7 straight decisions on the card, he seemed mystified as to why Leon looked sluggish and slow ‘you’ll have to ask him what’s been going on’ the man himself said he felt tired and slow all week.
Leon made the walk to the cage at around 5.30am Sunday morning. Five. Thirty. Can you imagine what that does to your performance as a world class athlete? Read any book on the science of sleep and they’ll tell you. Working nightshifts is fucking awful for your body, and takes years off your life. It’s no wonder he felt slow and sluggish. I have no doubt he spent the last month adjusting his sleep patterns and body clock to work against his circadian rhythm to prep, but there’s no way that isn’t going to fuck you up for your fight.
You could argue that the fight would still go the same way. Belal put on a hell of a performance and his gameplan would have been the same, but for him to look faster than Leon in the striking department is very, very strange. Yes he was fighting at the same time, but he did his entire camp in America, sleeping at a regular time and basically just not adjusting his sleep after the fight over. So he’s fighting at his primetime. Leon wasn’t.
As for Paddy and Tom Aspinall, I ‘d just argue that they are even better than we’ve perhaps given them credit for. Paddy’s submission was lightning fast and it was a beautiful moment for UK Jiu Jitsu to be put on the map. Tom Aspinall just really is that guy. For the UFC to still be putting on Jon Jones Vs Stipe Miocic is just plain stupidity at this point. Nobody wants to see it. Give the man Jon Jones.
Events whirlwind for Reap
The past two weeks have been pretty bonkers. We’ve worked with Harry and George Hardwick on our open mat, which was a huge success and fantastic to have the guys down. I first started training at an actual MMA gym because I saw Harry maybe ten years ago wearing and MFA hoody which directed me to the best gym in the Tees for MMA, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. So to complete that circle was a special moment.
We’re starting to feed that content over to our Youtube channel so check out some of the techniques over there!
We then spent the weekend after that providing technical support for Grapplemax whilst simultaneously sponsoring the show. Grapplemaxs first event was a huge huge success and it’s been awesome to be a part of it. It’s no mean feat putting on a big Jiu Jitsu show with lots of production, big matches and getting the BJJ community to not be super skeptical, but as there hearts were in the right place and worked very hard to pull it off it did very well. There’s a new player in town and its name is Grapplemax.
Products
I’m not going to lie, our stock has been cleaned out. However, we’ve got nothing in the calendar now except focussing on a better experience for everyone involved with Reap. That means fresh designs, innovative products and some blow-your-socks-off marketing. Not to mention restock and new products. So grab what you can off the website now, our bucket hats especially have been moving quickly. So dive in while you can!
We’re working behind the scenes on a date for our next invitational, which will be our next event. We’re matchmaking & working on production soon, so expect an announcement over the coming weeks.