BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation’s top three Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighters who participated in the Caribbean Kickboxing Grappling Shou Federation’s (CKGSF) Caribbean MMA Championship in Trinidad on Saturday (Mar. 24), returned to St. Kitts with mixed results.

The three MMA exponents were scheduled to defend their belts against a team from Barbados.

However, speaking with SKNVibes, Tija Stanley said that he successfully defended his Heavyweight title by defeating Kirk Goddard in the fourth round by submission, but Livine Stevens who fought in the Light Heavyweight Division lost to Cory Weithers, and Alex Lewis is still the holder of his Middleweight Belt because he had no opponent.

Stanley said that Livine got the better of Weithers in the first two of the five-two-minute rounds but suffered a damaged shoulder during the first 50 minutes of the third and was forced to tap out.

“I went into the fight filled with confidence and was certain of retaining my belt. I had sensed victory after a careful assessment of my opponent but, unfortunately, I felt a searing pain in my shoulder about the 50th minute into the third round and that restricted my ability to attack and also to properly defend myself.

“I however persevered with the hope that the pain would subside, but that was not to be as I was forced to tap out in order to avoid further injury. However, that was not a deterrent to my future as a fighter. My shoulder is slowly healing, as the doctor advised not to irritate the injury. So, I am now resting but will soon be back to participate in another match in St. Thomas in July,” Levine said.

Levine explained that the St. Thomas tournament would involve a Caribbean team fighting against their US counterparts on Saturday, July 28, 2012 and that would give him adequate time to be fully-prepared for the encounter.

He also explained that Lewis would participate in that tournament but he is uncertain of Stanley because of him wanting to compete as a professional in the near future.

Levine noted that the St. Thomas tournament is also a title match and would be aired live on pay-per-view.

Stanley indicated to this publication that he had already signed up to compete as a professional in a tournament that was scheduled for April 2012 in Trinidad “but it has been pushed back”.

The three fighters are members of the Apocalypse Mixed Martial Arts Club, which is located at the Life Fitness Centre (Semore’s Gym) in Bird Rock where they train five days per week.

Lewis, Chief Instructor and founder of the club, said that their training involves a mixture of Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Aquido and Ju-jitsu, Boxing and Grappling.

He also said that since the formation of the club in 2004, its membership has grown to 16 and more is expected since the trainers have joined forces with Operation Future, touring schools within the Federation demonstrating the art of self defence while encouraging students to participate in crime-free and educational activities.

Lewis explained that the club’s membership is of varying ages with the youngest being 14.

He also explained that they train females in the art of defence, especially since they are perceived in some quarters to be the weaker sex and many of them are constantly being abused by their unscrupulous male partners.

SKNVIBES join with the fans and supporters of the Federation’s top three MMA fighters in their recent success as well as failure and wish them the very best in their future endeavours.