LABOUR MP Will Stone fell just short of beating a professional Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) fighter in a jiu-jitsu match held in London yesterday.
Dubbed the world’s hardest politician, Will battled hard in the charity match but ended up submitting to his opponent, Matt Inman, just shy of the 5-minute mark of their bout.
The MP for Swindon North, who ran a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym before heading to Westminster, has practised the martial art for 17 years and is also a black belt in judo.
Speaking after the fight, the 43-year-old said: “It was very intense.
“I did want to win but the expectations I set out beforehand, where I gave myself a 20% chance of winning, were probably a bit overly ambitious.
“[But] I really enjoyed it and it was phenomenal to be there [at the event].”
The former Army rifleman took time to recommend Brazilian jiu-jitsu for everyone and described the sport as a “lot of fun.”
Speaking of his opponent, Will described Matt as highly effective in stopping the MP’s best moves.
The Swindon native said: “He seemed to have all the tools to stop me doing what I wanted to do.
“He did a great job of putting me on my back and not allowing me to clear the neck.”
While Will managed to secure some locks on Matt, his experienced opponent eventually dominated.
Like watching a spider wrap its prey, Matt continually coiled around Will until a final lock that began around the four minute mark served as the end of the fight.
In victory, Matt, a professional MMA fighter who is a jiu-jitsu black belt, said of Will: “The guy’s no joke.
“He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and a seasoned competitor.
He added: “There were some moments where I thought this guy knows what he’s doing.”
Despite the defeat, the Wiltshire MP was still “happy” to have come out and competed in front of the near sell-out crowd.
He also spoke about how doing jiu-jitsu has influenced his life as a politician.
The Labour politician said: “I think it’s made me a lot more robust.
“Politics is quite arduous at times and jiu-jitsu helps with that.
“It helps with stress and pressure [because] If I’m willing to get on the mat and grapple against a beast like Matt Inman, being in the House of Commons and talking isn’t an issue.”
He added how his “way of thinking” is different as a result of the sport and that it’s “great” for your state of mind.
While he used to train 15 times a week, Will has been unable to keep up the same regime since becoming an MP, hitting the mats now just once a week.
But where he’d lost time with training, the 43-year-old ensured he upped his strength and conditioning before the match with daily kettlebells.
Will and Matt both agreed to donate money raised from the event to The Kelly Foundation, a mental health charity in the MP’s constituency.
The former rifleman described the cause as “fantastic” at helping tackle the “mental health crisis” in the UK but that it has also struggled to serve everyone.
He said: “They are doing amazing work but I’m seeing firsthand that they’re turning people away because they don’t have enough resources at the moment.”
The fight took place at the Polaris 30 event at Fairfield Halls in Croydon which featured a range of some of the world’s best grapplers in competition.
