Josh Roe completed a successful transition to MMA this past weekend at BAMMA Fight Night in Southampton. The experienced boxer claimed a unanimous decision victory in his featherweight semi-pro debut, facing Andy Hannon on three weeks notice.
Hannon looked to secure an arm-bar from the bottom in round-one, however Roe defended the submission from above and did not allow Hannon to extend his arm and complete the hold. Despite this, Hannon was not willing to give up on the attempt, and the position remained a stalemate for the remainder of the round with Hannon keeping hold of his opponent’s arm and Roe defending from above, calmly remaining still and giving his opponent no room to adjust.
Roe proceeded to take full control of the next two rounds, his boxing experience was clear for all to see from both his stance and punching movements. The shorter man moved in and out to land comfortably and remained relatively free of any threat as the rounds played out, justifying his presence in the cage by strongly shrugging off several takedown attempts. With a reserved effort, Roe looked fully capable of turning up the heat in search of a knockout, but opted not to let his hands go on this occasion and soaked up the experience in front of his home town followers.
Photo: Mark Blundell
