St Leonards MMA star Hill takes fourth professional victory

Saturday marked the fourth professional outing for Steven 'Hillbilly Hammer' Hill, and the fourth dominant win of his professional career, writes Eric McGahan.
Novo head coach Alex Salisbury (left) and Steven 'Hillbilly Hammer' Hill. Picture by Brett King of bkcombatphotographyNovo head coach Alex Salisbury (left) and Steven 'Hillbilly Hammer' Hill. Picture by Brett King of bkcombatphotography
Novo head coach Alex Salisbury (left) and Steven 'Hillbilly Hammer' Hill. Picture by Brett King of bkcombatphotography

The Contenders London promotion, taking place at Crystal Palace Sports Stadium, hosted some of the top talent from across the UK and further afield, with a total of 16 scheduled fights.

Taking the co-main spot on the show was the eagerly anticipated middleweight bout between Hill and Matthew Findlay, a tough fighter with a respectable amateur and professional record fighting out of North London's Titan Fighter MMA.

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The build up to the fight started weeks before with the two exchanging jibes and taunts over social media. The back and forth reached its crescendo in the official interview hosted by Contenders.

Hill said: "It's either going to be my forearm or my elbow bouncing off of his head. He won't make it out of round two".

Findlay replied: "I'm better than him everywhere, he does not impress me at all". How he would later come to regret this statement.

The first round opened with both fighters feeling each other out but Findlay was quickly pushed up against the cage. Hill threw some some powerful knees into the thighs of Findlay before executing his first takedown of the night.

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After a scramble on the ground, Findlay managed to get back to his feet but Hill wasn't letting him get away that easily and executed another big takedown.

The difference in skill sets between the two fighters really began to show, with Hill's tremendous pressure proving too much for Findlay. He went almost completely into defence mode as Hill rained down punches, elbows and submission attempts, and nearly locked up a rear naked choke.

Findlay again managed to get himself back to his feet but Hill, a high level grappler under Novo Brazilian jiu jitsu, landed the third big takedown of the round seconds before the bell sounded.

The second round began with Findlay coming out aggressively, possibly due to losing the first round. He threw some big shots but Hill kept his cool and returned fire, landing some effective leg kicks.

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Hill caught one of Findlay's own kicks and drove him towards the cage. This spelt the beginning of the end for Findlay as Hill executed yet another perfect takedown.

The strikes came thick and fast from Hill. He worked his way round to a dominant position on Findlay and showered him in elbows from above.

Findlay was now failing to defend himself and the ref had seen enough, calling a stop to the bout at 3:35 of the second round.

The crowd went wild as Hill jumped atop the cage in celebration. Not only had Hill earlier revealed the exact way the fight would end but also in which round the fight would be stopped!

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Steve's hand was yet again raised in victory and adding to his flawless record in his MMA career.

After an exciting offer from the shows promoters he hopes to be back on contenders soon to fight for the coveted middleweight championship belt. The future certainly looks bright for Steven Hill.

Hill trains and teaches at Novo, St Leonards. If you would like to join any of the classes contact head coach Alex Salisbury via social media pages.

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