Southern Warriors gearing up for Dominican Champs

AFTER AN impressive performance at the Barbados Olympic Beach Wrestling tournament earlier this month, members of the Southern Warriors of Mixed Martial Arts are gearing up for the Dominican Fighting Championship less than three weeks away.

Speaking at their Marabella dojo on Friday, fighters Anthony “The Beast” Joseph and Aidan Ragoonanan said despite a relatively short notice entry to the tournament, they were pleased with their performances.

“This particular competition was different from what I’m accustomed to, because points could be deducted for different things, but I had three weeks to prepare and I felt that I did well,” Joseph, 23, said.

Joseph earned two silver medals in the beach and mat categories of the competition, beating opponents from Suriname and Barbados respectively.

He has already earned an impressive reputation with an amateur record of four wins and no losses,

Ragoonanan, 17, is one of the team’s youngest members and originally fought in the 125-pounds weight division, but also took on heavier opponents due to a shortage of fighters at those divisions.

“Olympic wrestling is a lot more technical than the cage fighting we were accustomed to, but we had the right support and guidance from guys like Joash Walkins and Dwayne Hinds who helped coach us. It was a great experience,” the Upper Sixth Naparima College student said.

The Warriors’ coach, Kerry Grant said he was satisfied with the team’s performance and said he was particularly pleased with Joseph and Ragoonanan’s ability to grasp the techniques within a short period of time.

“Some of the guys participating in the tournament were former Olympians in Greco-Roman wrestling, so I’m very proud of my team’s ability to not only hold their own in a fight, but also go out and win.”

Veteran fighter, Seon Adhar, is expected to square up against undefeated Dominican fighter Luis Rodriquez in Santiago on December 4.

Adhar who is the Caribbean Ultimate Fist Fighting (CUFF) flyweight champion has had no losses outside of TT and is eager to continue his undefeated streak next month.