Storm Damage – One Night Eliminator
Mixed Martial Arts hits our nations capital (that’s Canberra and NOT Sydney for our overseas readers) in a big way on the 25th of August with Storm MMA presenting its event Storm Damage which features an Australian first in a single night title elimination tournament for the Welterweight championship. The card boasts a total of eighteen scheduled bouts which seems like a lot.
However, promoter Storm Oshyer is confident that a lot of the fights may not go the distance and is conscious of the fact that people aren’t going to want to sit through eighteen three round bouts. “I don’t expect the title eliminator fights will go to decision, out of the eight fighters two of the guys will be fighting three times in one night. So I think they are going out there to get the finish early to save their energy for the title fight”. He won’t be wrong that’s for sure, fighting one three round fight can be gruelling enough but three fights in one night would be a challenge that even a fighter with elite cardio would struggle with.
The card is stacked with local talent and much like Nitro MMA does with the Brisbane market Storm is doing his best to give fighters in the New South Wales region a chance to fight professionally. “There are guys fighting out of Canberra, Orange, Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Adelaide, Southern Highlands, Brisbane, Wodonga & Melbourne. I want to give these guys the chance to develop their skills and show the Australian Mixed Martial arts community what they can do.” Although several of the fighters train out of Storm MMA in the capital as a matchmaker Storm knows who to match with whom. “Just because a lot of the guys train at my gym it doesn’t make it any easier for them, if anything it is harder. I know what skill level they are at and I can match them accordingly. I don’t want to send them into fights they can’t win but at the same time I don’t want to send them into fights they will win easily either. That doesn’t develop them as a fighter at all. In all honesty if anything they have harder fights than any of their previous fights, as I have matched them up for challenging fights, not walk overs, for them to win they need to bring their A-Game on the night, anything less and it will be a long night for them.” Developing the local talent is a passion that Storm takes very seriously and whether his fighters win or lose on the card it’s about the experience and exposure.
Tickets are selling fast for the event as a lot of fans are interested to see how the one night tournament will play out. “It’s kind of like looking back at the old school UFC cards” Storm explained. “It’s something a little foreign and I think it’s something the fans will want to see.” On plans to continue the title elimination idea Storm was excited “I think it’s something we will do to determine our first champion in each weight division but we won’t make the champion defend it in that fashion. They will just fight a normal single bout fight on future cards to defend it. What better way to find a new champion. If they fight three times in one night and win each fight they deserve it!.” he exclaimed.
For the casual fan it will be a good night to get a taste of what MMA has to offer and it’s a good chance to show the Canberra sporting community what MMA is all about. “Right now there are two shows a year here in Canberra and the fans love it. Ourselves are looking at putting on two shows a year and Brace For War are already doing two shows a year here in Canberra, so with both of us looking to possibly put on a couple of extra shows throughout the year in Canberra, we may see four MMA Cage shows a year here, which will be great, but it all depends on people getting behind the events and supporting local fighters & the shows.” Storm stated. Storm has had overwhelming support from some huge names in the MMA industry and could have easily filled 3 fight cards with the support from fighters and their trainers, it is great to see the support given and clearly he is well liked within the industry. Local fighters want to get on these cards to fight in front of their family and friends and of course the more support the fans give the more likely we will see more shows in the future. It’s one step at a time right now though as Storm MMA looks toward making history in Australia.
Once again CageJunkies will be on scene with live updates for an Australian first in MMA. Tickets are still on sale but selling fast so if you want to see history in the making be sure to visit StormMMA.com.au to secure your tickets!
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