Mudmen driving towards a title
Forgive Tyler Meade for doubledipping, but in his world it’s not bad etiquette.
In fact, it’s a good thing after he defeated Djavan Coleman to win the California amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) state championships in two weight classes in the same bout recently in San Diego.
Coleman unified the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Association (CAMO) welterweight and middleweight belts in fights earlier in the year. That lasted until Meade’s modified arm triangle forced Coleman’s submission 1:39 into the first round.
“By beating him, I won both belts. It also won submission of the night (as) the coolest of the night,” said Meade.
Also cool is the Morell native’s 4-0 record in MMA, all first-round submissions. The bout versus Coleman was Meade’s longest.
The Morell native lives and trains in San Diego. He moved to Alberta earlier in the decade and met his wife April in Edmonton. The pair went stateside in 2012, landing in Phoenix, Ari., and Meade, already a longtime student of judo, started training again.
From there, the couple moved to California in 2014, and in San Diego he hooked up with The A few of Morell native Tyler Meade’s mixed martial arts trophies and belts, including the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Association unified welterweight and middleweight belt, centre, he recently won in a bout in San Diego, Calif.
Arena MMA and Baret Submissions, run by two-time world champ Baret Yoshida.
With Yoshida and coaches Basheer Abdullah and Joe Vargas (boxing), Charles Martinez (MMA, muay thai) and Chris Leben (juijitsu,
MMA, wrestling) Meade’s seen steady progress culminating in the CAMO title.
But it hasn’t been a simple formula.
Training is six days a week, up to three hours a session, each day working on a different discipline, and that after putting in a full day as a plumber.
Mondays are for MMA instruction, on Tuesdays it’s MMA sparring, Wednesdays jui-jitsu (Meade won a world jui-jitsu world title in 2015), Thursdays are set aside for kickboxing, Fridays mean overall MMA cage work, while Satrudays are less intense and bring lighter fare with his training mates.
“We’re still putting in work, but not trying to kill each other.”
With that schedule, it’s safe to say the 31-year-old is not home much. Good thing April is patient sort, he said.
“I work at my plumbing job from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., come home, have a bite, talk to my wife for 10 seconds. She’s the best person I could have in my corner. She’s a part-time chef, part-time massage therapist, part-time counsellor and full-time support system.”
Meade’s next step is turning pro. That’s been the goal all along, but he’s in no hurry. Neither are his coaches who, he said, would prefer him to get a few more amateur bouts under his belt.
“I trust my coaches 100 per cent. I went from a white belt with no fights to a purple belt and a state champion. Opportunities will come. If you’re looking to be rich, then being an MMA fighter is not the way to go.”
The rubber hits the road today when the Hunter’s Corner Mudmen RFC and the Dartmouth PigDogs RFC tangle in Rugby Nova Scotia first division semifinal action in Charlottetown.
Game time is 2 p.m. at Co-op Field and Phil Gallant knows getting back to basics is the Mudmen’s linchpin if it wants a second straight division one title.
“The key to winning this weekend is defence. We know we have a strong offence and can score points, but it’s a matter of keeping them off the board to be successful,” said Gallant, a longtime player and club organizer. “We want to play aggressive and neutralize their forward game. Our set pieces are strong, and we hope to use that to control the game.”
The Mudmen earned a direct berth in the semi after going 7-0 in the regular season. It has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Dartmouth (3-4) finished off Enfield 33-12 in last week’s quarter-finals.
In the teams’ first meeting this season in Charlottetown, the Mudmen outgunned the PigDogs 31-12; a close game given the Mudmen outscored opponents this season 382-85.
Gallant’s division one squad hasn’t played since clinching home field versus Halifax RFC earlier this month, but he’s not worried about rusty play.
“It was only a one-week layoff so we don’t see it being an issue. We practice hard, so we never get rusty. In the playoff push we keep strong practices as to not miss a step,” he said, adding team is healthy all things considered. “Just bumps and bruises and a bit of late-season fatigue. Veteran players know what this time of year means and how you feel physically so a lot of guys do what they need to feel healthy.”
Should the Mudmen win, the club moves into the final against the winner of the Halifax TarsPictou County semi matchup.
The Tars (6-1) finished second, losing its only regular season game to the Mudmen 27-24 in Halifax, but earned the second automatic semifinal berth.
Pictou County (4-3) defeated Halifax RFC 25-22 to reach the final four. It dropped a 47-15 decision to the Mudmen earlier this season in Charlottetown.