Know Your Fighter: Laurence Whitesmith

Full Name:

Laurence Whitesmith

Age:

20

Where were you born:

England

Where do you live:

Willetton, Western Australia

Which gym do you train out of:

Scrappy mma

Who are your coaches:

Ben vickers, Ryan gray, Jack becker,Josh della, Jack della, Pablo Torrealba

What belts or rankings do you currently posses as a martial artist:

Blue belt in jiu jitsu Black belt in kungfu

What sports or activities did you participate in growing up:

Footy and cricket for a little bit. But since 12 only MMA

When did you begin to take MMA seriously as a hobby and then as a potential profession:

Started doing it as a hobby at 12, realised at 14 I can make a career of this

Favourite aspect of training or favourite session of the week, and why:

Favourite aspect of training would be trying to get better every day and having a good scrap with the boys. Favourite session of the week is Wednesday wrestling because it’s horrible.

What are your greatest strengths as an athlete or a fighter:

Athleticism, ability to pick things up fast,mindset

How would you describe your fighting style:

Fundamentally sound with a bit of flair

What is your favourite sport and why:

MMA because what else is there to like

Who is your favourite athlete:

Probably Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. Because of their unbelievable mental strength and work ethic

Who is your favourite combat sports athlete:

Jack della. He’s got the coolest fighting style and seeing all the 1%’s that he does inspires me to do the same

What are your immediate and long term goals:

Immediate goals are to win as many fights as possible pick up an eternal belt. Long term goal is to be remembered in the ufc as one of the best

When fans see your name on a fight poster, what should they expect:

High level skilful violence

How do you see your upcoming fight playing out:

I see the first round being pretty hectic. But I’ll dominate and show how good I know I am

A final message to any friends, family and supporters:

Love all you guys

Where will any fans or supporters be able to find you socials:

Instagram: @laurencemanchild

Know Your Fighter: Julian Giustiniano

Full Name:

Julian Giustiniano

Age:

26

Where were you born:

Perth Australia

Where do you live:

Perth Australia

Which gym do you train out of:

Bravos bjj and the LLC

Who are your coaches:

Oliver Barley and Rodrigo Giraldes

What belts or rankings do you currently posses as a martial artist:

Blue belt BJJ Black belt TKD

What sports or activities did you participate in growing up:

Rugby, wrestling, tae kwon doe, mma

When did you begin to take MMA seriously as a hobby and then as a potential profession:

15 when I started my wrestling career. Full mma training at 21

Favourite aspect of training or favourite session of the week, and why:

Sparring, grappling and running

What are your greatest strengths as an athlete or a fighter:

Grappling and strength.

How would you describe your fighting style:

High pressure wrestleboxing

What is your favourite sport and why:

MMA. Nothing compares to it.

Who is your favourite athlete:

Ray Lewis

Who is your favourite combat sports athlete:

Frankie Edgar

What are your immediate and long term goals:

Eternal featherweight champion and contender series.

When fans see your name on a fight poster, what should they expect:

High pace and people being thrown

How do you see your upcoming fight playing out:

Finish in the 3rd

A final message to any friends, family and supporters:

Whether you want me to win or not thanks for taking the time to watch 😁

Where will any fans or supporters be able to find you socials:

Instagram: @julian_g_157

Know Your Fighter: Quillan Salkilld

Full Name:

Quillan Salkilld

Age:

23

Where were you born:

Perth

Where do you live:

Perth

Which gym do you train out of:

Luistro combat academy

Who are your coaches:

Romel luistro (head coach) Tom Barns (wrestling) Toby smith (Muay Thai)

What belts or rankings do you currently posses as a martial artist:

Brown belt jiu Jitsu

What sports or activities did you participate in growing up:

Australian rules football Skateboarding

When did you begin to take MMA seriously as a hobby and then as a potential profession:

Started training in March 2018 and I knew I wanted to make it my career after my first amateur win in November 2018.

Favourite aspect of training or favourite session of the week, and why:

Tuesday wrestling practice is my favourite session of the week.

What are your greatest strengths as an athlete or a fighter:

The ability to learn and apply new skills consistently.

How would you describe your fighting style:

Gangsta

What is your favourite sport and why:

Other than mma I’d say AFL The game is so dynamic it is very entertaining to watch and fun to play.

Who is your favourite athlete:

Magnus Carlson

Who is your favourite combat sports athlete:

Mike Tyson

What are your immediate and long term goals:

To get to the ufc and become their lightweight champion

When fans see your name on a fight poster, what should they expect:

An exciting fight that won’t go the distance

How do you see your upcoming fight playing out:

I’ll get the finish inside 2 rounds.

A final message to any friends, family and supporters:

Thank you to all my Family and friends for all the support over last 5 years. I’ve been blessed to have you all along for the journey so far. Let’s keep it going.

Where will any fans or supporters be able to find you socials:

Instagram – @quillansalkilld

Know Your Fighter: Shannon Staples

Full Name:

Shannon Staples

Age:

30

Where were you born:

Como, Western Australia.

Where do you live:

Willagee, Western Australia

Which gym do you train out of:

Wilkes Academy

Who are your coaches:

Dave Wilkes Matt Erceg Steve Erceg

What belts or rankings do you currently posses as a martial artist:

No belts in anything. Only train within the MMA classes.

What sports or activities did you participate in growing up:

Played basketball tennis and football growing up. Top two sports was definitely basketball and tennis. Played in both state grades for each sport. MMA is deff my worse sport and wish you could just swap out skills from one sport to another.

When did you begin to take MMA seriously as a hoby and then as a potential profession:

MMA for me as always been a sport that I enjoy learning and developing in. I have done so many other sports I feel I reached my limit but MMA so new and always learning and getting beat up at class. It keeps the fuel burning and my competitive drive alive. I didn’t ever think I’d fight. It was a means to stay fit and lose weight as I got fairly close to the 100kg mark after breaking my leg. My first ever fight was my first fight at Eternal and I was so nervous as scared but loved the bright lights and crowd. Here we are now many fights in and next goal would love a pro fight and tick that of the list of accomplishments in sports

Favourite aspect of training or favourite session of the week, and why:

Favorite aspect of training….. I guess that’s when Dave says we going out for dinner and drinks ahah. I love training just for the trash talk we all have together at the gym and banter. I really enjoy seeing the young boys develop and grow and hope for the brightest future for them and always do all I can to help them. Mainly it’s telling them don’t do what I did and try play every sport .lock down and focus on one and be great. I can tell you worst session is wrestling and shark tank rounds with Matt erceg Tough class and even tougher coach. No fun and games during that class but nothing bring more joy if you can get Matt to crack a smile during class

What are your greatest strengths as an athlete or a fighter:

I’d like to think my best strength is managing distance and getting a good read on fighters early. Noticing such small detail or how they throwing combos. My coach Dave has always said that and been calm and relaxed inside the cage. Been able to change stances and fight from both has always been a good mix up and I feel can give me a lot more options then my opponent. I used to say my fitness was a great strength of mine but last few years it’s been a tough one.

How would you describe your fighting style:

Unorthodox style . Throw shots from odd spots and like to mix up my approach alot .. from loose in and out style or in tight guard up style I think that causes alot of different looks for me.

What is your favourite sport and why:

Tough question I love basketball and tennis. Basketball for the banter and the moves and mental games that go on within the game. It’s such a smooth highlight sport. I believe they are the best athletes in the world. Then tennis i love for the opposite. Individual game. So mentally tough and hard. The long sets the no coaching. How quickly a tennis match can change and your never out of a match with the scoring system. Choose which ever. Love them both

Who is your favourite athlete:

Rafal Nadal would have to be my favorite athlete Very close with Allen Iverson but I watched alot more of rafa and was playing the highest level of sport for longer On and off the court Rafal Nadal is a champion Humble kind and complete warrior

Who is your favourite combat sports athlete:

I’m sorry but it’s Conner McGregor Trash talk and banter Smart arse comments it’s my favorite past time Ruthless at time but it’s my favorite thing and he tops it for that Done good and bad for the sport but really exploded MMA around the world

What are your immediate and long term goals:

Immediate Love to get another fight sooner rather then later before I blow out again. Not good having to wait so long been matched up. Long term Love that pro fight experience maybe over east or somthing and hear the boos and hate. I would enjoy that.

When fans see your name on a fight poster, what should they expect:

Fun high paced fight. Most my fights have had back and fourth drama and somthing different and exciting and I always hear the crowd level noise increase. Most of all know they have great song to sing to when I walk out.

How do you see your upcoming fight playing out:

Think it’s going to be a tough war to be honest. High paced and very technical on the feet I don’t see either of us going to the ground. Test out his great boxing hands and a fun finish in the works

A final message to any friends, family and supporters:

You know what I’m about I try to do it all so thanks for coming thanks for buying tickets and supporting me Thanks for the love and support and like always win loose or draw hate or love me it’s a party weekend and let’s have fun now.

Where will any fans or supporters be able to find you socials:

Instagram: @stapless23