Bognor cage fighter’s head held high, despite defeat

It may not have gone his way, but Bognor mixed martial artist Ashley Kilvington says he has ‘no regrets’ after his loss to Abdrukhman Nasrutdinov on Fight Club Rush last Saturday.
Mr Kilvington says he has 'no regrets' after the fightMr Kilvington says he has 'no regrets' after the fight
Mr Kilvington says he has 'no regrets' after the fight

The cage fighter made a valiant showing in the first round but suffered a TKO loss in the second. Not wanting to make any excuses, he says he is now focused on learning from the experience.

“He was the better man on the night and, as long as I come away from it with a lesson- which I have done- then it was all worthwhile. It’s not a loss if you can learn from it.

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“Because I’ve been working my striking an awful lot over the last year or so, I was hellbent on using it. I sort of went away from what’s got me this far, and that’s my grappling. I just wanted to show off my new tools and I got a little bit caught up in all that.”

In fact, the loss has only made Kilvington more determined to come back stronger.

He said: “What it’s done is give me a bit of a bee in my bonnet. So, when I get home, I’ll be straight back into training and getting ready for the next one.”

The fight took place in Sweden and was streamed worldwide on UFC Fight Pass, a digital subscription service which gives martial arts fans access to bouts from a variety of promotions. Travel restrictions between the UK and Sweden meant Kilvington, who also accepted the fight on only six days’ notice, had to travel and fight without any of his usual coaches.

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He said: “It was a different experience to normal, and if I’d had my head coach and my striking coach there, they’d have been able to give me some pointers and I might have been able to adjust a bit better in the fight.”

Even so, Kilvington said the trip was anything but a waste. “I’ve actually been quite fortunate to be able to get away. I was able to fly over here, have a fight and I’ve made some great contacts with the show. So it’s not been a wasted trip, you’ve got to take some positives from it. So yeah, I’ll be back stronger.”

Kilvington trains at The Mad Hatters Asylum in Chichester. He is a Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. To keep up to date with his training, follow him on Instagram.

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