Coming into Friday’s Cage Brawls VI, Len Cook firmly believed Absolute Jiu-Jitsu had already established itself the area’s best mixed-martial arts gym.
By 11:20 p.m., the Bristol, Tenn.-based gym proved it.
With instructor Dee Smith in the corner of all four of his fighters, AJ-J swept their night at the Meadowview Marriott Resort and Convention Center.
It started with Wes Williams pushing his record to 5-0 in what he said was his last bout.
It ended when Cook, the IKSA Southeastern Region champion, cinched in a rear-naked choke hold, forcing Kiara West to tap out 2:15 into the opening round.
“We do what we do,” Cook said. “We train hard and we bring it to the competitions. I think we’re already the best.”
After West tapped out, Cook jumped to his feet and acknowledged the hometown crowd by straddling the cage and pumping his first. The large contingent there to cheer for the Abingdon, Va., resident – and the gym he fights for – rained down “Absolute, Absolute” chants toward the octagon.
It wasn’t the first time the cheer was heard. Receiving the largest ovation of the night to that point, Williams took down Wesley Hanson in the second round of their 180-pound bout, put himself in a mounted triangle atop Hanson before going to the ground-and-pound – pummeling the fighter out of Georgia with blows before the referee stepped in 2:10 into the second round.
“I knew on the ground is where I wanted to be, and I got there,” he said. “That’s kind of what I dream about: get into a mounted triangle and able to use my free hand to strike.”
It resulted in a win and ravenous applause from his Local 934 “union brothers and sisters” who came out to support the electrician.
Of course, it was the fist time the “Absolute” chants were heard for the night.
They continued after Logan Griffin upped his record to 3-0 with a technical knockout due to strikes 1:27 into the third round against Roy Sanders. Griffin, much like Williams, straddled his opponent and pummeled again before the ref stepped in to end it.
“Yeah, ground-and-pound,” Griffin said. “That’s my style right there. I’m not much of a standup fighter yet.”
Before Cook made it a sweep, Robert Rowland upped his record to 2-0 with a second-round TKO win over Michael Nace.
Rowland, out of Marion, Va., pinned Nace against the cage before landing three straight uppercuts under Nace’s armpits, but not before Nace landed a shot that bloodied Rowland’s nose.
“The best thing that happened is I got hit. You start moving a little bit,” he said. “It wakes you up.”
Smith called the 4-0 night a “great one” for his gym.
“You couldn’t ask for a better night,” he said. “We’ll just go back to work tomorrow.”
jsacco@bristolnew.com | Twitter: Sacco_BHCSports | (276) 645-2572
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