Englishman abroad

One of the UK’s top welterweights Peter Irving returned with another win under his belt against a very tough European opponent.

Peter Irving just beat Ivan "the Terrible" Musardo who is one of the most successful fighters of Switzerland. Holding a 15-5-0 record he has had fights all over the globe: From Japan, Holland, the UK and Slovenia. The BJJ fighter and ground specialist is known for spectacular finishes and aggressive fights. 13 of his 18 fights ended in the first round.

The fight was the Main Event in Belgium’s first Full Professional MMA Event!

It was a war of a fight. Both fighters showing true warrior hearts.

Round One
Pete and Ivan faced off in the first round and circled to find their range with Pete taking the centre of the cage in the first caged MMA show in Belgium. There had been some big KO's in the prelim fights and everyone knew of Ivan’s reputation as a banger. Ivan looked to counterstrike and then open up with his big shots. Pete seemed slightly reluctant to land his strikes and Ivan took advantage and caught Pete with a few good shots. Pete got caught with a goodun and Ivan unloaded to try and finish. Pete ever the warrior, soaked them up and returned fire. He got backed into the cage and caught a bloody nose that looked worse than it was. The doctor had a look and was happy to let them go on, in which time Pete seemed to have gathered his thoughts and returned a new man. They stood toe to toe and went to the floor a number of times and at the end of the round Pete had gained good top control and unleashed some heavy shots. It looked like the ref was going to stop it, but Ivan threw a leg lock from under the barrage and the round finished soon after. Draw

Round Two
Pete was switched on now for the second and looked to bring the fire. He knew Ivan gives everything at the start and can blow, so as per the game plan the 2nd was going to be his. There was ferocious a trade all through the 2nd round, with Ivan’s big but tiring big punches and Pete’s savage body leg kicks and a couple of huge flying knees, exciting stuff. Ivan got caught with a head kick across the nose and Pete’s shots were landing with more weight and venom. He was getting the upper hand and looked like the one who wanted it more.
Irving.

The doctor wouldn’t let Ivan come out for the 3rd due to cuts and facial damage and Peter gained the victory reluctantly in this fashion. Ever the warrior he wanted to win it in the cage as did Ivan who was a true gentleman and with not too much serious damage caused. Both fighters were very respectful of each other and Ludo put on a great show in a great venue.

WIN IRVING

Pete was surrounded with fans wanting autographs and photos. From granddad’s to kids all excited to meet him. Much deserved reward for a guy who has been through it all to get where he is now. One of the best welterweights in Europe!

"Shooto in Belgium has a bright future. And we look forward to seeing Ludo and some of his guys who are going to return the favour and come and fight on the future 10th Legion Championship Fighting shows here in England. MAI - Words from the man himself - Peter Irving gives his breakdown of what it was like to fight on Belgium’s first Professional MMA event. Peter - Belgium Beatdown was a great event, the arena was really good, presentation was great, and most importantly the crowd really appreciated the combatants. I didn’t hear any booing, even for foreign fighters taking on home town guys. For the first pro event that Shooto Belgium had held the teething problems were pretty minor. I didn’t realise until a few hours before the fight that elbows weren’t allowed under Belgian rules, and a DQ was on the cards for disobeying.

I had to have a quick rethink of tactics, and frankly I really missed having elbows! I had a few problems with the cut, the weigh-ins were delayed by 2.5 hours and the Belgian refs wouldn’t let me use the official scales until the moment they called the weigh-ins. I had to eat the wrong stuff too as their wasn’t any access to a supermarket and the only food available was noodles at a Chinese restaurant and stuff from a 24hr garage. The weigh-ins were so late that we had to eat right away before properly dehydrating so I cramped pretty bad. None of the other guys were cutting very much and I don’t think they realised how dehydrated I was. Nobody seemed to understand why I was asking for more than 1 bottle of water. That wasn’t ideal, but it didn’t affect me too badly the next day. These are all things that become important at pro level sports and I am sure they learnt a lot from changing to a Pro event.

We did a lot of analysis on Musardo before the bout. He’s had a lot of fights, so there was plenty to see. We worked a lot on countering his ground game, escaping his pins. In the end the fight never went that way, but that’s where he does his best work, pinning from top position. In a lot of respects we’re pretty similar, and almost identical in terms of experience. His boxing was a little better than I’d given him credit for, and he caught me with some solid shots. I was looking out for his takedown, and he threw some good straights and overhands over the top. We knew he’s a strong starter, but starts to fade as the minutes tick by. I’d worked hard on getting my fitness right. Bruno at Urban Kings oversaw all my strength and conditioning and I consulted Ollie Richardson, www.fighterstrength.com , to get a clear idea on structuring my training. I had Jess and Jason and the rest of the guys all sparring, shark tanking each other to get ready, and Leo’s classes are gut wrenchingly intense every time, so I was prepared to weather the storm in the first and go all out in 2 and 3.

It wasn’t the strategically smartest fight I’ve ever fought, but it was really good fun just letting the punches go. I was really disappointed when the fight was called between the second and third. I wanted to get out and show what I could do, and I think a more experienced doctor probably could’ve worked on the cut a little better and given him another chance. Ivan was very cool about it though, he didn’t complain or anything, just acknowledged that it was a good scrap and these things happen. ?

Last year was full of problems and disappointments, but after the move to London everything is right on track again. My health is better again, and having constant coaching makes such a difference. I got to a point coaching myself were I just wasn’t really sure how to take my game forward. Having Leo Negao and Alan Orr guiding me all the time has really helped me get out of a rut. I’ve had two good, solid wins against two top Europeans back to back. Tough fights, but good tests of skill and conditioning. In England people seem to notice things that happen on the domestic scene and on the world scene, but not so much on the European circuit. The impression I get is that my reputation is much better abroad on the continent than it is at home.

Time for a good rest now and prepare for a big next year!"

Pete Irving

Alan Orr is a disciple of Robert Chu Sifu and the European representative of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun system.

Teacher of Tui Na Chinese Massage Therapy

He is also the European representative for Guro Mark Wiley in the Filipino martial arts and Sensei Eddy Millis of Shark Tank in NHB/Grappling. MMA Fight Coaching.

www.alanorr.com
www.thechinesemedicineacademy.co.uk
www.warriorfunctionaltraining.com

For further information Tel: 07958 908 196 or email: info@alanorr.co.uk