Woodman loses MMA title bout, Johnson picks up win for Avalanche
When the dust settled at WarPath VIII in Chilliwack, B.C., Avalanche MMA emerged from the ring with a 1-1 record, but no title.
By Marcel Vander Wier on December 14, 2012
When the dust settled at WarPath VIII in Chilliwack, B.C., Avalanche MMA emerged from the ring with a 1-1 record, but no title.
Three Yukon MMA fighters headed to B.C. last weekend with great expectations, and while young Ryley Johnson took home his first victory, T.J. Woodman lost his title bout and Stefan Brynjolfsson didn't even get a chance to enter the ring at the Squiala First Nation.
Woodman (3-3) dropped his second straight fight to Jamie Siraj (3-0) in the 135-pound category.
"It didn't go exactly the way it should of,鈥 the 29-year-old Woodman admitted.
"It started off early where I went for a guillotine and he went for a takedown, and I almost got it. So I kind of got stuck in that habit, where every time he put his head down, I'd go for the guillotine and pretty much give him the takedown.鈥
Woodman said if he had "stopped being an idiot,鈥 he may have taken the fight.
"T.J. went back to his old game plan from the first fight. It kind of backfired on him,鈥 said coach Cliff Schultz. "He was never in trouble or overwhelmed, but he couldn't finish him again.
"That kid Jamie just kept taking him down over and over, and that's how he scored all his points.鈥
Schultz said Woodman's standup fight was excellent, forcing Siraj to continually take him down.
"The fight was pretty close standing up,鈥 Woodman said. "I wanted to keep it standing. If I stopped letting him take me down, then it would have been definitely a lot better for me. I know what not to do now.鈥
Schultz agreed with his fighter's assessment.
"The problem was, his underhooks and his clinch work. Jamie would just storm through it, and his wrestling was better than T.J.'s.鈥
The fight went the full five rounds, and Siraj was awarded a unanimous 50-45 decision from the three judges.
Schultz said Woodman was disappointed in his fight, "because he knew what he had to do. He knew what he was doing wrong. There were habits that he couldn't break.鈥
On the plus side, Woodman emerged from the ring without much damage after a long, hard-fought bout.
"Now he just has to tweak his game by that much more,鈥 said Schultz. "Then he will become way more dominant.鈥
Sixteen-year-old Ryley Johnson (1-1) was the first to enter the ring in Chilliwack to take on hometown favourite Corry Wass of Four Directions Martial Arts.
The two jiu-jitsu fighters battled in the 160-pound youth category.
"It seemed like Ryley wasn't too intimidated by the guy,鈥 Schultz said of his son, a Porter Creek Secondary School student.
"He was kind of nervous, but he got in the ring 鈥 We had a game plan. He stuck right to it, right to the tee and totally listened, and it was a thing of beauty.鈥
The two fighters agreed to fight a long six-minute round, or best-of-three submissions.
Johnson quickly clinched up with Wass when the fight started, took him down with underhooks and submitted him with a triangle choke.
The two fighters got back to their feet, and Johnson again used the same move.
"It was really nice,鈥 said Schultz. "He shot in, got the underhooks, and ended up taking him down again. This time, he submitted him with a head and arm choke.
Almost put him out cold.
"The first thing he told me when he came out was, 鈥榠t's sure nice to be back in the ring.'鈥
Brynjolfsson (1-1) did not enter the ring after his opponent Mark Morrison's flight from Montana was delayed in Spokane, Washington.
"Stefan's opponent ended up changing at the last minute, about two days before,鈥 said Avalanche coach Cliff Schultz. "We found out three hours before the fight (he was delayed). It wasn't very good.鈥
Brynjolfsson, 27, instead spent the weekend filming fight footage and helping Schultz corner.
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