Sport
13 December, 2021
Liam victorious in first MMA bout
TABLELANDS local Liam Eastgate has taken his first step in achieving his dream after stepping into the octagon last weekend as a debutante and emerging a victor.
The 20-year-old has had a passion for mixed martial arts that was nurtured in high school after he was inspired by a peer’s work in the Muay Thai ring. In his hometown of Atherton, Liam then begun pursuing a range of martial arts. After starting with Muay Thai Liam then moved onto Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before eventually settling on Absolute MMA in Melbourne where he currently lives and trains.
Liam was preparing for months for his debut fight, but due to some unforeseen circumstances his original opponent was pulled from the card. Liam then had to go up two weight classes to a catchweight class just one kilo under welterweight for his first fight.
Despite stepping in the ring for the first time, Liam was undeterred by the nerves and instead trusted himself and training he had done.
“The guy was pretty big and really rangy but I was confident in my grappling skill set, I had a good feeling I’d be able to close the distance and get the job done,” Liam said.
“I felt pretty good during the walkout, I think I was more nervous at the weigh ins to be honest cause there is no music playing.
“Once I started walking out I felt pretty good, I kicked into gear and had a clear vision of what I wanted to do.”
Liam managed to win by decision after two rounds to claim his first victory in his first fight in MMA currently sporting a 1-0 record – now Liam will be gearing up for another hopeful fight in the new year.
