Several mixed martial arts athletes from Maple Ridge took part in the inaugural West Coast Combat Championships, bringing home a slew of medals.
The event was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre as part of the Vancouver MMA Fan Expo June 11 and 12 and featured Brazilian jui jitsu, submission wrestling, Muay Thai kickboxing, and amateur MMA competition.
Maple Ridge’s West Coast Brazilian Jui Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts sent a team of fighters to the competition led by talented junior Ronan Golby, who battled his way to the final against Valentine Zheman. The two youngsters fought a war of attrition going five straight rounds against each other to break the tie with Golby winning gold.
In the lightweight division, Christiaan Allaart and James Brunelle cleaned out the largest division of the tournament to take home the top prizes.
Ryan Christopher proved he’s not just a talented grappler by winning his kickboxing division, defeating all his opponents soundly.
Also giving a great showing were Stephen Rosenau and Cody Osborne.