Remi "Bam Bam" Morvan

Hi everyone,

I have been back in the gym the last few weeks. I’m just slowly coming back to form. My rib is feeling a lot better. It is good enough to train but only to a certain level. I will be back sparring and training hard in probably another few weeks.

I will be teaching BLUE belt and PURPLE belt classes tonight at Carling so if you want to hear my take on some techniques then please come out and let’s have some fun.

I will be heading down with Brody and a bunch of the OAMA family next weekend to watch my friend and training partner Steph take his record to a new level. Steph will be fighting in Montreal on November 13^th, for Ringside MMA. If you want to go but can’t find a ride then please talk to someone at the OAMA front desk as we are trying to organize a big team to go support Steph. This will be a real fun night of fights.

Keep an eye on my news as I should have a name for my next opponent shortly.

Cheers

Lots and lots going on…..

First off some recaps from OAMA over the last few weeks which I neglected to mention as of now. My mind is not always on the right track and sometimes I forget to write up events here on the webpage.

On October 13^th, 2010 Wreck MMA had their 4^th Event, in Afghanistan no less. 5 fights went off that night with 2 OAMA fighters getting 2 big wins. First fight of the night my fellow 135lb training partner Sami Mann made his MMA debut in spectacular fashion by sinking in a guillotine choke only about 30secs into the fight. Congrats Sami you did an awesome job. Next from OAMA was the striker extraordinaire Steph Bernadel. Steph’s fight went to the 2^nd round where he finished off his game opponent by TKO. Steph is on his way to big things so jump on the Steph Bernadel wagon now because it might be too late if you wait. Wreck MMA is always doing great things supporting our community and last week supported our troops. Great job and keep it up.

That same week Mark Holst fought in the UFC for the second time. I watched the fight on tape delay and was very impressed with my instructors submission defence. Paul Sass would sit to guard over and over again not to stand with Mark and put my friend in about 8 submissions all of which Mark escaped until the last 15 seconds of the round where Mark was forced to tap. I’m proud of you bro and can’t wait to see you climb back the ladder. I just feel bad for the next few guys that have to fight you.

In other big MMA news the UFC has now merged the 145lbs and 135lbs divisions of the WEC. The WEC will shut its doors and their champions have been granted UFC Champion status. The WEC has always been known to have the best 145, 135lbs fighters in the world and now its official with the first official 145lbs UFC title fight happening Jan 1 2011. When I said earlier that Steph Bernadel is on his way to big things I mean that him fighting in the UFC has just become a huge possibility. If Steph can win a few more fights I’m sure he will get his shot. I have a much longer road then Steph to get to the UFC but nevertheless this is a goal that I can set for myself and hopefully put a long streak of wins together so we can get there. I’m sure there will be a few Canadians jumping into the UFC 135lbs division seeing as there is not one Canadian there yet. I think Adrian Wooley and Nick Denis will be good candidates for the UFC. I’m just excited to see what the next year will bring.

As for me my next fight has been called in. Pat got a hold of me this week and has ensured me a spot on the next Wreck MMA card happening on Jan 28, 2011 at the Casino de Lac Leamy. I’m very excited to get back in there so fast. My opponent is not yet known but I will let you know as soon as possible. I began training this week but taking it really easy seeing as my rib is very sensitive. Training camp will ramp up over the next month and I will have lots to talk about.

Cheers.

Well it’s been a week since my fight and I apologise for the delay. I have nursing my body back to health and spending lots of time with my family.

My thoughts on the fight.

Well the fight did not go as planned that’s for sure. Part of that is not entirely my fault but that of my opponents. The fight started off with both of us seeming pretty tentative. It looked as if he did not want to engage to much as he knew that I was going to shoot in sooner then later. We circled for a while and I finally shot in and secured the takedown. I was able to control top position for a fair amount of time before Eric finally reversed me. When we got back to our feet Eric started opening up a bit and on one of my shots landed a game changing knee. When the knee landed I thought the fight was over. I almost keeled over but for a second I made myself believe that he had just knocked the wind out of me so I should keep fighting. I’m not sure what happened after that except that Eric finished the round strong taking my back and landing many blows. It was enough for Eric to steal the round from me that’s for sure. I can tell you that I really don’t remember the 2^nd round. From what I heard it was the hardest round to judge and could have gone either way. I’ll have to judge that for myself once I see the fight in a few weeks.  Between the second and third round I remember telling my corner that something was wrong with my rib. In good old Nick Castiglia fashion Nick gave me a swig of water and told me to go finish this fight. Without my strong corner behind me believing in me more then I did myself I would not have wanted to come out for that 3^rd round. I was able to fight through most of the round but by the last half of the final round I could hear Pat yelling the perfect instructions to me but had to signal to him that I could not manoeuvre due to my rib. We fought on to a decision that I knew and accepted to be my opponents. Eric fought a great fight and who knows how it would have played out if I hadn’t taken that big shot that changed the fight.

I have learned a lot from this fight and now know to believe in myself no matter what happens in a fight. I’m going to be back in the gym in about 2weeks to start some light training and in about another 30days I hope to be back sparring. The doctors I have seen have diagnosed me with a possible cracked rib and have barred me from sparring for 40days. I will judge my recovery in a few weeks and make the call with Pat when to return to sparring.

I will enjoy some time off to spend with my family and then begin getting ready for my next fight on January 28^th, 2011 at the casino de lac Leamy for Wreck MMA’s next event. I have not been given an opponent yet but I’m looking to make some changes in training and come out with a big win to start off the new year.

I want to thank everyone that helped me get ready for this fight, Kru Jeff, Hammer, all my sparring partners, training partners, pad holders and all the students at OAMA. Big thanks to my family and friends for the support. My corners Pat and Nick for all the help getting ready I really appreciate it. Not to worry I’ll be back a better version very soon.

Cheers.

Hi everyone,

It’s the morning of the weigh ins and I have 7 hours to go before we officially weigh in. I’m 7lbs over at 143lbs. I’m allowed to come in at 136lbs seeing as this is not a title fight. I’ll be heading to the sauna around 1pm Winnipeg time with Nick who’s going to help me stick it out for the time it takes to make the weight. I’m fully hydrated right now and had a salad for dinner last night so I’m feeling really good. In the past I have tried to be 140lbs before going in the sauna but by that point I’m dehydrated, hungry and miserable. So to be at the stage I’m at now with still 7 hours to go I couldn’t feel any better.

This past week was great. Saturday was some light training followed by a sprint session with none other then Mark “Boots” Holst. We pushed each other by racing each sprint while Jeff was yelling at the top of his lungs at us. It was fun to have the guys push me like that.

Monday night I came in late in the evening to see how I would perform fresh after 9pm. Jeff put me through 3x5min rounds of intense fight simulation. My lungs, my legs and my entire body got through it and I know the fight won’t be as hard as that. Jeff has done a real good job preparing me for this fight.

I want to thank Jeff and Hammer for putting the time aside for me. I owe you guys a lot for all your help. Thanks to all my sparring partners, training partners and all the OAMA students for the super positive feedback you have given me. I’m ready for a war and can’t wait to show off my hard work on National television (tape delayed so it’s not live) for all my team, friends and family to see.

Now for the hardest part of the process I’m off soon to cut my weight with Nick and If I get time I’ll post some news after the weigh ins.

Cheers everyone..

Hi everyone,

I’m winding down one of the best weeks of training that I have ever had. This past week was filled with sparring, conditioning coupled with some blood and sweat to go along with it. I had 4 hard sparring sessions this week to get ready for my opponents aggressive nature. Jeff and Hammer have been putting a lot of time aside for me and it’s been paying off. Tuesday night I was tested on my breaking point and I’m happy to say that we didn’t find one. After a hard class of sparring with much bigger and stronger opponents Jeff closed the cage room door and decided that I would fight on for another 15mins straight with no breaks. He brought in Alex and Nigel to help beat me up for the whole 1x15min round. We worked on all aspects and I was pushed to a place that I haven’t been pushed in a while and oddly enough I came out ready for another 5 minutes. I have put to much time into this fight and to much effort to see it slip through my fingers this time. I have a day off today and training resumes tomorrow with some technique followed by a stair and sprinting session.

Before I left for the gym on Tuesday I had the privilege to have my good friend and training partner Randy Turner over to my house for dinner. Christine made an awesome meal and we all got to say goodbye to a true warrior and a real life hero. Randy is leaving today for 5months overseas for another tour of duty with the Canadian Army.  Top MMA News wrote this following article before my last fight about Randy as he had to withdraw from the Wreck MMA card due to pre deployment training.

http://topmmanews.com/2010/08/13/soldier-off-wreck-card-as-duty-calls-for-mcpl-turner/

Randy buddy stay safe and know that we are all waiting for your return to both home and to the MMA ring.

With only one week left before I enter the CFC cage for the night’s main event against local hero Eric Perez, it’s time to relax and rest with only one more hard training session on Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday will be entirely devoted to getting the weight down to were I need it to be before jumping in the Sauna at the Hotel.

I want to thank all my trainers and training partners that have helped me for this fight. Jeff and Hammer thanks for all the one on one time I know that it will make the difference in this fight. Sammi, Alex, Nigel, Mark, Steph, Zev, Mehdi and everyone else that I’m forgetting I really appreciate the extra push over the last few weeks. OAMA the BEST……  

I’ll be posting again before I leave next week and let you all know how my weight is doing before I jump on that plane.

Cheers

Remi.

Hey everyone

12 days away now and I just had the best week of training in a long time. Jeff set up a program for me to follow all week. I followed it all the way through and on Thursday night I had the best sparring class I have ever had. My four rounds of MMA sparring were hard and fast and I felt better then ever once I was done. My conditioning and lungs are getting stronger with every session that passes. After a few sprint sessions I’m already feeling the benefits and can keep an even pace for 4 full rounds with 4 fresh guys. I spent all week training the game plan within all my workouts. My Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling training and conditioning was all geared towards my game plan for this coming fight. When we had our MMA sparring on Thursday night I simply implemented the plan which in turn made the session a lot easier on me.

I just got my training schedule from Jeff today for this coming week and it’s looking just as hard with a few different tweaks to ease me into next weeks weight cut and down time. Mark is following a similar schedule for his next big UFC fight which is 8 days after my CFC fight. Mark is looking sharp from feet to floor. I can’t wait to see him get his first of many W’s in the UFC.  

I’m currently holding my weight around 150lbs which is about 4 lbs lighter then my last fight. Midway this week I will switch gears and begin cutting down to about 144lbs by Monday Oct 4^th and I hope to be around 142lbs by the time I get on the plane Wednesday morning. Once I’m in Winnipeg I’ll have my usual 5lbs to 7lbs to cut in the sauna which will be the end of the hard work and the fun can begin.

If you want any details on the event go to www.canadianfighting.com and check out the news and fight card information.  

Cheers…..

Remi Morvan

Here we go…

The fight is drawing near. I will be heading down to Winnipeg in exactly 2 weeks time today. I only have limited time left to train hard then I will slow down to recover before flying out to Winnipeg.

The last few weeks have been off the wall with great training. I’m soar everywhere, I’m tired, I’m cranky but I’m almost ready. My training has been tricky seeing as I just fought about 4 weeks ago. You train in hopes that you peak at the right time during fight week. I had to tone it down in the first few weeks of training after my last fight in hopes to build back up. Maintaining is not an option. We train to hard to train hard everyday of the year. If I felt like I do now everyday of the year I would not be fighting. My workouts are followed by ice baths after training to try and recover for the next day. Jeff has been kicking my butt both as a trainer and as a sparring partner. This past week, I have been submitted by lots of people, I’ve been TKO’d and even KO’d by Jeff. Many people might see this as a bad thing but to me it’s a great thing. My team is getting me ready for the worst possible situations and I know for a fact that my opponent won’t be as strong as Hammer, as technical as Mark or as Powerful as Jeff. So with all this punishment over the past week and this week to come I can only imagine how great the fight is going to be.

So I’ll be sparring and rolling tonight with conditioning tomorrow, technical training Friday and some running with Jeff, Mark and Steph on Saturday. Next week will be a whole new set of workouts that are fight specific and explosive endurance to make 15mins seam like nothing…. Well that’s the plan anyway… haha..

Keep an eye on the site guys I’ll update everyone this weekend.

Cheers

For anyone that has never seen Eric Perez fight, here is a small taste of what he brings to the cage. This fight is from a few months ago at cfc5 when Eric fought a friend of mine Robin Black. Ends in a controversial manner but nevertheless Eric caught Robin with something that ended the fight.
I have another one of Eric’s fights at home that I will try to get uploaded. That one is a longer fight where I have picked up on some weaknesses that we are going to exploit on Oct 8th. I’m getting really pumped for this fight… a little birdy told me that Eric will knock me out in the 1st round. I’m not sure if Eric actually predicted that to someone but I can’t wait to see the end result that’s for sure. For now Enjoy this one…..

Sunday Sunday Sunday….. The weekend is over and its time for the most intense weeks of training coming up.  These next two weeks are going make or break the fight. I had a great week of training and began hammering down some game specific drills along with some serious pad work with Kru Jeff. I had two great strength training sessions this week seeing as I missed one due to the holiday last Monday.

 Pat and Mark are off to New York this week to help mark get ready for his second UFC appearance. Steph is getting ready for what might be back to back fights, some of the OAMA Muay Thai fighters are getting ready for a CASK event coming up soon. Also some of OAMA’s BJJ comp team fighters are getting ready for the Bravado Open in Toronto on September 18^th. When you couple that with my training it makes for a great training camp. I know that over the next two weeks we are all going to push each other to reach victory in all of our upcoming events. OAMA is truly one of the most active Martial Arts Schools around.

 Kru Jeff and I have started working some great training on the pads. Jeff has been staying late with me after all the classes are over to pad me. As anyone that has had the pleasure to train with Jeff will tell you that his pad holding and training is off the hook. I really appreciate the time that you have and will put into me over the next few weeks.

 Last but not least check out the picture bellow and you will up to date on the latest news in my family life. This is yet another exciting time for me. A win in four weeks will be the icing on the cake.

Cheers everyone.

Hello to everyone,

Labour day is over and its time to get down to business. I was lucky to get away this past weekend for my family reunion and let all my soar muscles, aches and pains get an extended rest. I was able to keep my cardio up this past weekend with some intense family tradition dodge ball games. So lets just say I did a whole lot of running in the last few days.

I expect to ramp everything up today for the next three to four weeks. We have exactly 31 days to go until fight night on Friday October 8th. I feel great, I feel strong although a little tired. My son Nathan is getting his teeth in and let’s just say that he is not a happy camper. Just last night I was up from around 2:30am to 3:30am. I hope to catch up on some sleep tonight but at the same time if I train tired and go 100% then I will just be that much faster and that much stronger in the ring. We typically hit the hotel about 2 or 3 days before the fight and my body gets all the rest it needs. I love my son more then anything but I really enjoy my hotel rest time… haha… as would any parent of a new born baby.

I had a great weekend with my family and now I’m ready to get back on the mats. Steph Bernadel is fighting soon and Mark “Boots” Holst is also training hard for his next UFC fight so I expect to update you on some great training in the next few weeks. So keep a close eye.

Check out www.markholst.com to see a great news article that was printed in the Ottawa magazine. Mark received a full 3 page spread. It is a pretty cool article so check it out.

Cheers