This chapter in the Rocky saga (you can find the previous Rocky films we’ve reviewed here) sees The Italian Stallion take a different role. Suffering with a brain injury from the beating he took at the hands of Ivan Drago in the last film Rocky has to officially retire from fighting, but finding his money has been squandered he reopens Mickey’s gym and starts training fighters.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Rocky V (1990)
The next instalment of the Rocky franchise sees the champ still holding the belt and a new challenger rising – Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Rocky IV (1985)
Set 18 months after the events of Kickboxer: Vengeance, Kickboxer: Retaliation sees Kurt Sloane fighting MMA, having vowed to never return to Thailand. Of course this doesn’t work out, and he finds himself kidnapped and imprisoned near Bangkok.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)
Rocky 3 finds the champ at the top of his game, with 10 successful defences of his title behind him he’s fighting exhibitions against wrestlers, starring in TV ads and unveiling statues of himself.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Rocky III (1982)
We recently wrote about Why Heavy Bags Are Useful for Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and other combat sports, so we decided it would be a good time to cover the many different types of punch bag which exist, and why most of them have slightly different purposes.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA or Muay Thai gym, then there’s a strong chance you’ll have seen the imposing line of heavy bags hanging along the edge of the room. Often worn on the outside, but still standing up to the regular punishment, waiting for you to give it your hardest shot.
Continue reading Why Are Heavy Bags Useful for Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and other combat sports?
Roberto Duran is one of the all time greats, a boxer that a lot of fighters look up to, and the biopic Hands of Stone captures his life in full detail.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Hands of Stone (2016)
![Fight Quality Film Review – Chuck [The Bleeder] (2017)](https://fightquality.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/chuck_540.jpg?w=540)
Chuck (A.K.A. ‘The Bleeder’ in the UK and Ireland)
Sylvester Stallone was iconic in his breakthrough role as Rocky (which we previously reviewed), one of the most recognisable characters in cinema. Most people know that Stallone also wrote the film, and was struggling to make ends meet when sold the script and became a legend. But what inspired Sly to write Rocky in the first place? He says it wasn’t true, but as this biopic film about Chuck Wepner shows, The Bayonne Bleeder and The Italian Stallion have a fair bit in common.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – The Bleeder [Chuck] (2017)
Welcome to the Fight Quality ultimate guide to everything you need to know about boxing gloves, updated for 2018. This guide aims to be the only resource you’ll ever need when it comes to boxing gloves. We’ve broken down just about everything you need to know, from the specialisations of the different styles of glove, to the different brands available.
Continue reading The Ultimate Guide To Boxing Gloves (Updated 2018)
MMA is a tough sport to reach superstardom in. A well placed head kick (Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm) or a solid wrestler (Francis Ngannou vs Stipe Miocic) can derail the hype train very quickly. That said, there’s always a new generation of MMA fighters working their way up the ranks, taking on the current stars of the sport and trying to make their name.
It difficult to argue against the suggestion that the ground game of MMA is the most technical element of the sport. The first two UFC tournaments were won by Royce Gracie, a ‘man in pyjamas’ who turned up and taught the world what a high level BJJ practitioner could do. It quickly became essential for MMA fighters to become proficient at ground fighting, and many other accomplished BJJ players have made the transition to MMA – leading to some painful submissions, nasty bone breaks and many people getting choked unconscious.
Continue reading Fight Quality’s Favourite BJJ Players in the UFC
Combat sports are an ever-changing landscape of fighters, with new names popping up constantly. All fighters have heart, and all fighters have talent, yet of all the fighters who have stepped up over the years, there are some who stick in our minds, who changed the way we think about the sports we love, and who are truly inspirational to today’s generation of martial artists.
Continue reading Inspirational Fighters – Dieselnoi “The Sky Piercing Knee”
In the brutal, blood splattered and uncompromising world of bare knuckle boxing, Lenny Mclean is a figure apart.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – My Name is Lenny (2017)
Having successfully survived till the final bell against Apollo Creed in the first film (which we previously reviewed) Rocky Balboa is trying to enjoy life with his family and move away from boxing, believing he has no future as a fighter.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Rocky II (1979)
Rocky is the boxing film. The original and many argue the greatest, it’s about a low level boxer being picked by the undefeated champ for a title shot. Everyone expects him to lose, even Rocky expects to lose. But if he can make it through to the final bell he’ll be the first person to go the distance with Apollo Creed, proving he’s not just ‘a bum from the neighbourhood’.
What on earth do you buy for someone who only ever thinks about training? You could buy them some new equipment, but unless they know exactly what they want then that could be a risky decision – especially if you’re someone who doesn’t train at all! It’s probably best to avoid buying gear unless your budget is a bit higher and you know what you’re looking for, so then what should you buy?
Well we’ve decided to help out a bit, by sticking together a list of some pretty cool things which most fighters would appreciate.
Aspiring boxer Maggie (Hilary Swank) seeks out top trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to turn her into the champ she knows she can be. Reluctant to train a girl Dunn refuses, but Maggie isn’t put off. Instead, and with a little help from ex-pro Eddie ‘Scrap-Iron’ Dupris (Morgan Freeman), she wins over Frankie and becomes his star fighter. As Maggie and Frankie grow to become almost family a catastrophic incident in the ring tests just how far their relationship will push them.
Continue reading Fight Quality Film Review – Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Ognjen Topic is a current IKF World, WBC, WKA National and a former Lion Fight Lightweight World Champion in Muay Thai, fighting out of North Jersey Muay Thai. As well as his fighting career, Ognjen is a full-time instructor as well as being a great graphic designer, having designed the current logos for Muay Thai Authority, MuayTies as well as his own fighter branding, which was used to create a range of InFightStyle gear (You can see that gear here).
We spoke to Ognjen to find out a little bit about his favourite gear and training advice.
Everyone loves an underdog. It’s the basis of hundreds of ‘one man against an army’ style movies, and is especially relevant for fighting. Who doesn’t like stories about the guy who’s already been written off coming out of nowhere and stealing the show? Fight Quality always roots for the underdog, and for exactly this reason we’ve listed five of our favourite upsets from UFC history for you to enjoy:
Continue reading Everyone Loves An Underdog – 5 Huge UFC Fight Upsets
Tom Green is a Mixed Martial Artist, possibly best known as the Fusion Fighting Championship Featherweight Champion. We last spoke to tom back in mid 2016 as part of our article The Best MMA Gloves – According to UK Fighters.
This time, we spoke to Tom a bit more in depth to find out a little bit about his favourite gear and training advice.
