SEAN Smith never had any doubt his fighters would go on to rule the nation.
The Stourbridge martial arts trainer was delighted when his charge Josh Burford claimed the British super-heavyweight title in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
It was a great day all round for his Ultimate Martial Arts gym as Burford beat Jarek Janiszewski, who also trains at the Cradley Heath complex, in the final at Wolverhampton University.
Smith, a former British champion himself at middleweight, says he was always confident his fighters would produce.
He said: “Anything can happen on the day but the standard at the gym is very high, so I always felt we would do well.
“Josh was always favourite to win but Jarek getting to the final was a real bonus.
“I’m delighted for both of them.”
Rob Wilkinson gave Smith another reason to celebrate as he claimed the lightweight title.
Smith is now looking to further build his fight teams as participation in mixed martial arts continues to rise.
He said: “The academy is getting stronger and stronger and at the start of next year I want to start taking our fight team out to events.
“We’re starting to get a track record of success. In nine out of ten events we enter our fighters get a medal.”
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