» Cage fighting in Hove
A local fight club is trying to bring a controversial cage fighting match to Brighton. Rachel Pegg reports.
If some of Hove’s more genteel residents knew about it, they’d probably have nightmares. Every couple of months Hove Town Hall is loaned out to a local fight club to stage an exciting, fast-paced night of hybrid boxing and kickboxing, with members of the club taking on amateur and professional fighters from the local area and further afield.
“The male race are being neutered more and more. This allows us to behave like men”
Now the organisers – ZT Fight Skool of Fonthill Road, Hove, are planning to stage Brighton’s first cage fighting night, where competitors can draw on a range of mixed martial arts to beat their opponents in a ‘cage‘ made of rope netting.
Last time ZT – which stands for Zero Tolerance – tried to stage an ‘ultimate fighting‘ night such as this at Hove Town Hall in 2006, the event was cancelled by Brighton and Hove City Council after a campaign from the local Green Party. At the time, Green convener Keith Taylor complained that violent events such as cage fighting should not be held in public buildings. Instead the event had to be transferred at the last minute to the Copthorne Hotel in Crawley. This summer’s cage fighting night will take place at the Hilton Brighton Metropole in Kings Road, but ZT is hopeful that one day they might get permission to stage the controversial sport at a bigger venue such as Hove Town Hall or the Brighton Centre.
There are fewer rules in cage fighting because it draws from so many disciplines – except ZT bans elbows because they can cause bloody injuries. Club owner Sol Gilbert – former European and British middleweight Ultimate Combat champion and former Combat Sports National Light Heavyweight Champion – said the sport was gaining recognition and is on its way to being recognised at the Olympics. He said: “It sold out at the O2 arena six months ago within an hour. It is the fastest growing sport in the world.”
While not an official sport in Britain, cage or “ultimate” fighting is recognised by 16 countries including the United States, China and Thailand. It needs the approval of 29 countries to reach the Olympics.
ZT spokesman Nick Harvey said: “When it does get recognised, we don’t have the infrastructure in place to train world class fighters.“
Sol, who admits he was a tearaway youngster and was expelled from Cardinal Newman and Dorothy Stringer schools for fighting, says it was his commitment to boxing and, in particular, to mixed martial arts, that got him out of trouble. Running a fight school with students aged from under ten to over 50 provides a focal point for many young people who might otherwise lack direction.
Sol said: “I had a lot of energy. Boxing for me was the main way of disciplining myself. Most kids when they grow up, they start getting into trouble. I was getting that way. I got my collar felt for fighting.“
About 600 people train at ZT from all walks of life, from eight-year-olds to a 56-year-old stunt man. About 35 of them take part in organised fights – others, who are able to train with the fighters at the club, use it as a way of pushing their fitness and getting better results.
The last boxing night at Hove Town Hall at the end of last month attracted 750 people. There were ten fights, with one fighter billed as ‘The Nutter‘ from Whitehawk. Gregory Brooks, from Brighton, was there to see his friend Tom Minter, who in civilian life is a plumber from Worthing but at ZT is one of the club’s best known fighters. Gregory said he saw events such as ZT Fight Night as a chance to celebrate masculinity. He said:
“The male race are being neutered more and more. We are losing our defining features. Things like this allow us to behave like men.“
Sian Agar, 31, a teacher from Hove, was there, she said, because: “It is a really good atmosphere. The last one was brilliant. It makes a nice change from just going to a bar.“
The next hybrid and kick boxing night at Hove Town Hall is on Friday 18 July, or mixed martial arts at the Hilton will take place on Saturday 30 August. Tickets range from £25, to £100 per person for a VIP table of ten including a three course meal. For tickets or a week’s free trial at ZT Fight School, call the gym on 01273 202226 quoting Latest magazine or visit www.ztfightskool.com
Photos by Tim Richardson
