Phil strikes gold to win Euro title
Phil Ounsley celebrates his gold medal at the European Championships.
DEWSBURY’S Phil Ounsley won a gold medal at last weekend’s European Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Lisbon, Portugal
Competitors from the USA, Canada, Russia, Brazil and Japan joined those from across Europe for the two-day championships, which is regarded as one of the sport’s most prestigious events.
Ounsley won his first round match by forcing a submission from Gerardo Guillem (Icon JJ, Portugal) with a head and arm choke.
He then beat Seppo Valojarvi (Checkmat BJJ, Finland) in the semi-finals with a D’Arce choke, again forcing his opponent to submit.
Ounsley then faced tough Spaniard Jose Manuel Ruiz in the final, who proved to be resistant to various submission attempts.
A dominant display earned Ounsley a clear points victory for the gold medal in the heavyweight senior division.
Ounsley’s victory comes on the back of a successful year, when he won gold at the World Submission Wrestling Championships in Long Beach, California.
Earlier last year he also won gold at the British Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Birmingham.
Ounsley is a police inspector in Kirklees and runs West Yorkshire Police’s successful submission wrestling team.
He trains at the Allegiance Mixed Martial Arts on Bradford Road (above Brooklands Bar) in Batley. He practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and MMA with head coach Neil Hall and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Roberto Barbiero.
Ounsley also competes in MMA and has a good professional record, including winning the British 10th Legion Middleweight Title.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a style of ground fighting which focuses on submitting your opponent using chokes and joint locks.
This style of fighting is commonly used by top level Mixed Martial Artists and is an integral part of MMA fighting providing most of the positional work on the ground and the submissions.
Anyone wanting to know more about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA or kickboxing can visit www.allegiance mma.com or contact Neil Hall on 01924 519962.
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