Dean Garnett; “The atmosphere was intense from the first to last bout!”
Prior to his KTMMA debut on KTMMA 3 at the ILEC Conference Centre in Earls Court London, Dean Garnett, fresh from two correct predictions, made the bold statement that he would stop his Chinese opponent Yao Honggang in the second round of his big international bout but in prediction terms it didn’t prove third time lucky, as Dean actually stopped his man in the opening round. Needless to say, Dean saw it as the perfect way to introduce himself to the KTMMA fans-“As far as a debut goes it couldn't have went much better for me, the show itself was well ran and organised, we were well looked after and to top it off I landed my first KO!”
Dean appreciated the special KTMMA atmosphere, noting that the crowd were knowledgeable and well-educated, staying for all the bouts not just the fighter they were supporting and this, he believes, ensured that the atmosphere was intense from the first to last bout, a good thing for him as he was second last on the card but his performance was well worth waiting for. As previously mentioned, Dean had predicted a second round stoppage but events didn’t quite go to plan. “I didn't expect to get the KO in the first, I was planning to take my time and go for the finish in the MMA round but I attempted a flying knee I'd been working on and I knew if I was short with that, the big right hand was always there!”
The ‘big right hand’ certainly worked and even before the bout Dean and his team felt confident that the fight was very much there for the taking, noting that Honggang’s hands weren't as tight as they could be defensively. As a result Dean’s coaches wanted him to pressure the Chinese fighter and let his hands go once Honggang was moving backwards. “During the fight he frustrated me by catching my kicks, which was causing disruptions to the flow of the bout…maybe that got me a little bit angry and made me add a bit more venom to that right hand!” That venom came in 3.08 of the opening round and not only secured an impressive victory but sparked a realisation in Dean himself-“I'll definitely be hoping to be part of the next event, it's really opened my eyes to how much I enjoy competing in the striking elements of MMA.”
As to the future, Dean would obviously return to KTMMA if the opportunity arose and given his success in the upright KTMMA round would look to pursue another K1 bout on the back of this fight before getting back to his Pro- MMA roots.
KTMMA 3 was presented in association with
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