iMMACULATE Style - An interview with Miad Najafi

I haven't reviewed a brand in a while however I was so impressed with new brand iMMACULATE that I thought I would share it with you.

iMMACULATE is one of the growing number of clothing brands inspired by mixed martial arts to hit the scene.
However to look at some of the designs you perhaps wouldn't pick it out as being your typical MMA inspired apparel.
There are currently 4 t-shirt designs available featuring stylish and artistic prints that are comparable in terms of quality to brands like All Saints and Diesel.
Here to tell us more about the idea process and thoughts behind the brand is iMMACULATE's founder Miad Najafi.

You have a diverse background in martial arts, what inspiration did you draw from this to create the iMMACULATE brand?
I have been really fortunate to have trained with some phenomenal instructors and fighters.
What is nearly always the case with high level guys, is that they are often intelligent, articulate, technical, athletic and humble individuals.
I didn’t really feel that most of the present MMA and combat sports inspired brands really captured that.
In fact I always felt that many of the market leaders relayed the more negative stereotypes of what a fighter really is. That really was the spark that has led me to create iMMACULATE.


What would you say separates your brand from some of the others currently available of the market?
The main difference is the overall brand message and identity with a strong focus on creating high quality and beautiful garments.
I wanted to portray the fighting athlete in a positive light; that fighters are in constant pursuit of perfection on their journey to excellence.
But that isn’t just because I say so, that message needs to run deep into the designs, branding, artwork, fabrics and colours choices for each and every garment.
I wanted everyone who buys an iMMACULATE piece to immediately be able to tell that this is something truly unique.


What is your favourite design out of the current t-shirts and why?
That’s a really difficult one for me to answer, as I love them all for very different reasons. Mastery (Graceful Mastery) was the first piece I commissioned by an amazing fine artist Dale Grimshaw, its based on what I felt was the DNA of iMMACULATE, so I have a personal connection with that particular piece of art but as I said, I love them all.



You have already got great reviews in popular magazines Men's Fitness and Jiujitsu Style, how would you like to see the brand develop and grow?
Obviously I want iMMACULATE to have a strong presence on the worldwide MMA and combat sports scene, but at present I am really focusing on creating garments that the athlete and fan will want to wear and to allow the iMMACULATE brand to grow organically. I am really pleased to say that the initial response has been amazing, but the feedback is even better when people see the pieces in hand as only then can the true quality and attention to detail be appreciated.

Have you got any plans to tap into the growing market of female martial artist and MMA enthusiasts?
At present we are looking at men's hoodies, sweatshirts, rashguards and fight shorts for 2012. We will however be looking at doing some women’s wear. In fact I already have some really lovely women’s vest designs in the pipeline, so watch this space!

Who out of the MMA or BJJ community would you most like to see wearing iMMACULATE?
For me it's vital that anyone who represents the brand should be someone who really holds the same general values as iMMACULATE. There are too many fighters out there who are sponsored by brands that don’t really fit the fighters character, for example Demian Maia is a really technical fighter, not to mention a really polite and humble guy, so for me it doesn’t make sense that he is representing a brand called Bad Boy, the same goes for a lot of the top level fighters!

Within MMA, I would love to see fighters like Jose Aldo, Machida, Frank Edgar, GSP, Jon Jones, Demian Maia, JDS, and Anderson Silva wearing iMMACULATE. Within BJJ I would shortlist Cobrinha, Marcelo Garcia, Braulio Estima, Lucas Lepri, Roger Gracie, Bruno Malfacine and Michael Langhi as my ideal brand ambassadors. They are all are really humble and articulate while still being phenomenal athletes, for me that’s what it's all about. Being a boxing fan, there are some fighters who I would love to represent iMMACULATE, but at present I am focused on the sports of MMA and BJJ.

Thanks to Miad for taking the time to chat with me, and I am looking forward to seeing the collection grow as I think Miad had created something really interesting.
Miad is an Alliance BJJ coach and his designs have already got the nod from the General, Fabio Gurgel
"I had the pleasure to see how the Immaculate was created; the brain storm behind the brand says why it is so cool!
Jiu jitsu and martial arts in general have from now on something that really represents what the real fighters feel"

Make sure you check out the designs on the iMMACULATE website you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter: @immaculate88

Cage Warriors 125lb Women's Tournament

I was excited to read that Cage Warriors are promoting a 4 woman tournament to crown a 125lb Champion.
This will be some really exciting MMA to watch out for and is an example of the growing acceptance and popularity of women's MMA.

The first part of the tournament will take place in Amman, Jordan on the 15th of April and will feature German fighter Shiela Gaff (9-4-1), her opponent is still being matched.

Representing the best of UK talent is Rosi Sexton (12-2-0)and Aisling Daly (13-2-0).
Rosi and Aisling will face off on Aisling's home turf fighting in Dublin on May 5th.
The winners will finally face off in Turkey in September 1st.

I can't wait to find out who the fourth opponent will be, Rosi tweeted that she would like to see Tara La Rosa get the fourth spot.
WMMA fans may know that Gaff and Daly have already faced off with Gaff showing a much more aggressive style that finished Daly in the first round. It would be interesting to see how Daly adapts her game if she ends up facing Gaff again.
A match between Sexton and Daly has probably been on the cards for a while as they are probably the two most know fighters out of the UK. It should be a tough fight as both are very good grappler's so its a hard one to call.

Thursday Sparring - Footwork

In today session Paul was there to help us, as after watching my most recent fight with footwork still being an issue this is what we decided to work on.
We started off with some skipping followed by 9 minutes of agility drills to get warmed up. After this we worked on cutting the angle off a jab and a few other boxing combinations to get us thinking about using footwork to set up shots.
As usual the session was finished up with some sparring and then I helped the girls work their take downs and defense against the cage.
After I did some squats and lunges with Sharlotte as I have been slacking with strength work and have a bit more time to work on my conditioning with no fights or competitions for at least 4 weeks.

I have already started planning our next big session on January 22nd which will be an afternoon of boxing and submission wrestling drills for MMA followed by some sparring in the cage or ring, so if anyone would like to come along add yourself to the facebook group, send me a message or call up First Gen on 01323 724831

Kayo MMA and Female only Sparing in January

Its the day after my fourth fight and fourth win of the year.
As you may have read I had just fought a couple of weeks back on the Battle Arena show. This isn't something I would recommend or make a habit of doing as it is tough going having two fights so close together but I felt it was a good opportunity seeing as I had missed out on the contenders show and was feeling fight ready.
My opponent was Laura Clarke who was coming off a good win via TKO through a body shot.
As such I worked lots on my wrestling and movement around the cage.
The fight went how I wanted it to (despite a point taken off from an accidental illegal knee) and my take downs felt strong. I won in the first round via G&P, which was similar to my last fight but this time I felt a lot stronger with my shots.

Female training, classes and Open mats

I won't be fighting again until Feburary on either the Contenders or Battle Arena show, which gives me lots of time to work on my BJJ and grappling.

I was thinking about my plans for January and that's when I realised that there are quite a few female only events that might be of interest so here's a run down of some of them.

On the 7th January my friend caz is organising an event called "sticks kicks and jits" Which is a taster session of BJJ grappling and stick fighting, check out the event on facebook or send me an email for more info.

There is also competition sparring for BJJ at Gracie Barra in Derby the following day,,, these sessions are organised by Christine and are a great chance to get in some quality training before the Europeans.

Make sure you keep your ears open for news of the next London BJJ womens open mat session organised by Meg and taking place at various different gyms. The sessions are a great way to learn some BJJ and get some extra training in. Check out a review of the day by Meg at Megjitsu


If you live in London then why not check out purple belt Pippa Grangers female only BJJ class at diesel gym 1 on Mondays at 8pm or Sarah Merriners class on Saturdays 11am at Carlson Gracie Hammersmith.

Thursdays at First Generation gym Eastbourne from 11-2 is ladies only training, there is a good group of us now that have been meeting up to drill some technique and do a bit of hard sparring in the cage, I know not everyone is free to train in the day but if you are then feel free to come down for it, we might start a weekend class if there is enough interest.

So there you have it, lots going on in January to look forward to! Check out my next post on BJJ seminars and competitions in the next couple of days.

Strikeforce WMMA Riled up by Rousey

I sometimes read the stats to see who has been checking out my blog, and its always interesting to see the range of countries that it has been viewed in.
I got an email out of the blue from an old friend that I had lost contact with who said that one of his friends was telling him about my blog from all the way in Australia.
I can sometimes be a bit crappy about keeping in contact but its nice to know I'm not rambelling to cyber space unheard, and it was good to catch up with someone from the past.

Has anyone else been following the twitter wars in the woman's MMA scene over the last few weeks?
Ronda Rousey, an Olympic judo medalist who has recently crossed over into MMA has been causing controversy and in her own words "getting the woman riled up"
Interest in her was sparked after she won all 4 of her pro fights in under a minute into the first round via armbar submission.
Her success didn't come without controversy as Sarah D'Alelio claimed to not have tapped from the armbar. These allegations made sure Ronda would not be letting go of a submission unless as the old saying goes her opponent tapped or snapped.
Unfortunately for Julia Budd, Rouseys latest opponent, this is exactly what went down, in an attempt to roll out of the armbar Buds arm was painfuly broken at the elbow.
After another impressive victory Rousey announced her intentions to drop to the 135lb weight class, calling out the current champ Miesha Tate for a shot at the title. Some would say this was a bold request to make after only 4 fights, especially as giving her a shot at Tate would mean Rousey skipping past fighters who had already worked their way through the 135lb division, claims were made over twitter that she should "wait her turn".
The call out had female fighters up in arms as to weather it was fair that Rousey be able to get a title shot in a category she had yet to prove herself in. The publicity and interest in the conflict lead to a double interview between Tate and Rousey on MMA hour with Ariel Helwani. Rousey took a direct approach stating that a fight between her and Tate would make the most sense from a marketing point of view.

Rousey's comments were probably more thought out that they seemed, I think it was her intention to act the cocky new comer and tempt Tate into a fight that her common sense probably wouldn't agree to. Interestingly the conflict has sparked even more of a dispute between not only Tate and Rousey but also the fighters such as Sarah Kaufman who would miss out a chance at a rematch against Tate if Rousey got her way.
I know my coaches wouldn't let me take a fight like that, Tate worked hard to get the title, it would make more sense for her to see how Rousey copes against some good fighters in the 135lbs category first.
I can see why Rousey is pushing it as she has nothing to lose 4 fights in, and remaining in the 145lb category where the cream of the crop includes the likes of Chris Cyborg, mean it makes sense for Rousey to go for gold in the 135lb category while she has a buzz surrounding her.

It may not be fair what Ronda is trying to do and as a Brit I'm inclined to get ticked off when someone tries to queue jump, however whatever fights happen next in WMMA are going to be a lot more interesting now that there is more of a story behind the match ups.

I.S.K.A MMA title

After watching all my friends kill it on UCMMA contenders in Brighton I was feeling some what sulky that I didn't get to fight.
Despite contenders not happening I had been keeping up my training, even though it wasn't looking likely I would have anyone to fight on our next fight night either.

My new found love of twitter (I know took me long enough) meant I was even more restless and psyched up to fight after following the uproar that Ronda Rousey caused by calling out Miesha Tate for a shot at the 135lb title.
"Sigh" it seems life isn't as interesting when you don't have a fight or competition to focus training around.

Randomly my friend Tanya who I fought way back in March asked me if I wanted to step in last minute for a title fight at Battle arena in Northampton.
I was in London doing my exercise to music training day and in the middle of making a "just because we can" chocolate cake with my cousins.

I text my coaches to see what they had to say and both Paul and Tolly seemed up for it if I put in the hard work.
I would like to say that I didn't scoff a huge slice of chocolate cake inducing a sugar high of excitement that was followed by a series of rocky style pose downs in mirror but yeah that totally happened.

We killed it in training for 5 days working everything, Tolly is particularly ruthless when it comes to being fight ready.
Sunday came around really quickly, I weighed in at 3pm at around 60.5kg my opponent was around 2kg heavier but we had been expecting that. Had the standard pre-fight meal of nando's quarter chicken medium, chips and garlic bread, coconut water, then a smoothie and some fruit and a couple lucozade sports.

As it was a title my fight was 19th so there was a long wait in the changing rooms, I had my book "the night watch" to keep me distracted, but overall I was feeling pretty good about the fight.
It was three 4 minute rounds, and my first time doing head shots on the ground. I think from the crowds reactions that they enjoyed the fight, and it was stopped in the third round via ground and pound.

All the excitement has meant I am now back on nocturnal time, as we got back really late and then I pretty much slept all day got up had an espresso and went to training hence writing this at 4am. Sleep is an important part of recovery so its back to a caffeine ban again from tomorrow, well today!


Thanks to my coaches Paul and Tolly and all the guys at 1st gen that helped me get ready especially joe, mikey and lee, and the crossface guys for nurturing some extra aggression in my game. Cheers to my sponsors Punchtown who hooked me up with some really nice sparing gear that made me feel extra bad ass in training.
Last fight of the year will be 11th December on KAYO MMA show in Watford then its time to focus on Jiujitsu again to be ready to rock the Euro's at the end of January.
Saying that I can't believe this year has gone so quickly but I'll save those thoughts for another post and leave you with some pictures of my new bling.

Nogi British Open

Its good to start doing competitions again especially as my time as a blue belt was spent mostly overseas or busy and broke in London, which meant I could only enter a select few comps.
It was also the first time I have entered a nogi competition.
Before I started training to fight in MMA I really used to hate nogi but I have since started to enjoy it and felt a lot more comfortable with the standing or wrestling element.
I recently got my purple belt and as I have been training for about 3 years now I entered the intermediate category.
There were 3 other girls in my group but I only got one fight against Aisling Daly which ended in a RNC.
I was pretty gutted but it was a good fight and I will feel a bit better about competing at a higher level.
I didn't really post about getting my purple belt with the same enthusiasm that surrounded getting my blue belt, as my training had felt quite hit and miss the last year.
But now I'm thinking of it more as a positive as it will push me to get better and compete at a higher level.
Time to start extra gi training for the English open at the end of November, hopefully will get a team from 1st gen to go compete.
Its looking unlikely I will have someone to fight in 2 weeks at contenders so my next MMA fight will be in December.