Jason Ball (martial artist) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jason Ball is an English professional mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

who competes in the lightweight

Lightweight (MMA)

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...

division. He began his professional MMA career in January 2005 as a welterweight

Welterweight (MMA)

The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...

, and has held the welterweight belt for the UK based organization Ultimate Force before surrendering the belt after making a career-altering decision to drop to lightweight. He is currently lightweight champion of the U.S based MMA company, The Real Fighting Championships. He received the nickname "Daddy Cool" in a changing room in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

waiting for a fight because he was notably relaxed and calm, and a training partner (Lanus Jones) exclaimed: "You do realise you're fighting in a bit?!" GroundandPound lists Ball as the #9 lightweight fighter in Europe.

MMA Career and Background

Ball started out at as a pure grappler, with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu being a focus early in his amateur career. He competed in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu London Open at age 19 as a White Belt, and subsequently took home a Silver medal. After learning Capoeira

Capoeira

Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...

, he began training in several other martial arts disciplines, including Escrima, Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do is a hybrid martial arts system and life philosophy founded by martial artist Bruce Lee with direct, non classical and straightforward movements. Due to the way his style works they believe in minimal movement with maximum effect and extreme speed. The system works on the use of...

, and Dog Brothers. Ball began taking fighting more seriously and progressed to Vale Tudo

Vale tudo

Vale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...

, Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

, and Boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

to help round out his technique, and he became a natural with his fists in the octagon. Displaying a well-versed arsenal that encompasses both the standing and ground game aspects of Mixed Martial Arts, Jason kept the fight standing up and attacked his opponent with fast hands, winning his first professional fight via corner stoppage.

Jason did the majority of his base training at Mick Shaw's Academy in Doncaster, England. The current training includes several segmented sessions of grappling, one-on-one sessions and boxing in one day.

Jason has trained with several big names, including England's own Ryan Rhodes

Ryan Rhodes

Ryan Rhodes is an English light middleweight boxer. Rhodes took up boxing at a young age, training at Brendan Ingle's gym in the Wincobank district of Sheffield.-Professional career:...

. Ball has gained a passion for boxing, and has TKOed two BJJ black belt fighters, and there is reason to believe he may pursue boxing

Boxing

professionally as well. Jason also trained with Team Rough House

Team Rough House

Team Rough House is a Mixed martial arts team from the East Midlands, England. Based in Nottingham and Leicester, the team is known for producing well respected welterweight fighters...

in May 2010, including Ross Pearson

Ross Pearson

Ross Pearson is an English professional mixed martial artist from Sunderland. He is the lightweight division winner of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom and is a member of Team Rough House.-Background:...

and Jim Wallhead

Jim Wallhead

Jim Wallhead is an English professional mixed martial artist, based in Leicestershire, England, who competes in the welterweight division. Wallhead's background is in Judo, where he holds a Black Belt having trained under Olympic silver medallist Neil Adams...

.

Ball has gone 6-3 since dropping to lightweight and has not expressed interest to go back up to welterweight. He continues to work on his boxing and muay thai striking because he wants to appeal to a greater audience, since, as he says: "not a lot of people know exactly what's going off when it's grappling."

Jason was due to face Daniel "Denzil" Thomas at Kudegra 2, on October 9, 2010, the promotion folded prior to the event.

Ball-Berto Rivalry

Jason Ball faced James Edson Berto

James Edson Berto

James Edson Berto is a Haitian professional mixed martial artist and the former Real Fighting Championship Lightweight Champion who has fought for the EliteXC and Strikeforce promotions and is known for his incredible leg lock variations, all but one of his submission wins are by way of Heel...

for the first time on July 24, 2009 in Tampa

Tâmpa

Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. The fight was a nontitle affair, though James was the RFC Lightweight champion at the time, and it went to a three round decision. To spectators it seemed as though for every punch Berto threw, Ball had three to answer with. Ball won with a split-decision victory, which came as an upset to the Florida audience being that James was a local favorite to win.

The next time these two fighters would meet is November 13, 2009 in Tampa, Florida once again. This time it would be for the RFC Lightweight belt that Berto retained, and it would be five rounds. Berto surprised Ball in the beginning round with a new level of aggressiveness and pace. In addition, it seemed Berto had developed improved ground-grappling skills. This caught Ball off guard for the better part of the first round, though Ball retained a high level of pace and punching combinations. It could be said that for every punch Berto threw, Ball now would return with five of his own. After halfway through the second round, Berto began to show signs of gassing out, and although his punches appeared to be more powerful yet slow, Ball kept a high intensity throughout the five-round fight. Berto attempted to sidestep the flurry of punches by taking the fight to the ground. Ball had outboxed Berto once more, this time more decisively for a unanimous decision victory, subsequently earning him the RFC Lightweight belt as well.

Titles and Accolades

Jason faced grappler Tim Radcliffe June 19, 2010 at the Troxy

Troxy

The Troxy is an art deco theatre and concert venue at 490 Commercial Road in Stepney, in the East End borough of Tower Hamlets, London, UK.-History:...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

at UCMMA: 13 Feel the Pain. The first round started off with a headkick from Radcliffe followed by two takedown attempts. With two minutes left in the round, Radcliffe finally secured a takedown and controlled the fight with ground and pound. Jason came out more aggressive in the second and stalked Radcliffe, and outboxed him. The third round was the closest of the three, starting out strong for Jason, as well as reversing his position on Radcliffe with a sweep

Sweep (martial arts)

A sweep is the name used for two categories of martial arts techniques. From standing, sweeps are throws or takedowns that primarily use the legs to attack an opponent's legs...

from his back, using his legs. The scores were not announced for the rounds but it was a unanimous decision for Radcliffe.

Despite being labelled a striker by several promoters, Jason has 7 submission victories to his name and is capable of submission off his back, despite only being a purple belt in BJJ. He also has a green belt in Capoeira

Capoeira

, one of the disciplines that ignited a desire to learn more about fighting, and to this day his Capoeira training is evident in his feet, picking and choosing his shots. He has a purple belt in BJJ from Gracie Barra

Gracie Barra

Gracie Barra is one of the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu associations, with over 400 black belts and 150 schools or affiliates worldwide. It is headed by Carlos Gracie, Jr., son of Carlos Gracie the first Gracie to ever learn Jiu-Jitsu from Japanese emigrant to Brazil Otávio Mitsuyo Maeda.- History...

.

Jason is revered in his gym for having an iron chin, with his only professional TKO loss coming by way of doctor stoppage due to a badly broken nose against Paul Jenkins. Jason was also involved in a 4-man tournament, and went on to win two fights in one night on November 11, 2006 against Arron Barrow and Dave Hirst, winning both in the first round. He submitted Barrow with an armbar and TKOed Hirst due to corner stoppage. Ball was crowned the Total Kombat Tournament Champion.

Ball redeemed himself against Paul Jenkins by beating him via rear-naked choke on October 20, 2007, and thusly winning the Ultimate Force's welterweight championship belt. Jason would go on to defend the belt two times, once against Arron Barrow on January 12, 2008, and second against Leslee Ojugbana on May 3, 2008. He put Barrow in an arm triangle choke in round 1 and TKOed Ojugbana in round 2.

Jason then surrendered the UF welterweight belt and dropped to lightweight to fight Aidan Marron at 155 lbs. for the first time. He submitted Marron in the first round with a rear-naked choke. About one year later Jason captured the RFC lightweight belt from James Edson Berto

James Edson Berto

on November 13, 2009. This was the first time Jason had gone a full five rounds at five minutes each, and won a unanimous decision against the powerful striker Berto. He kept a diligent pace the entire fight while his opponent showed fatigue into the remaining rounds of the fight.

Mixed martial arts record

Andre Winner

Andre Winner is an English professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom, reaching the final. Winner is also a member of Team Rough House. He holds notable wins over Jeff Lawson, Rolando Delgado and Rafaello...

|Decision (unanimous)
|BAMMA 7

BAMMA 7

BAMMA 7: Trigg vs. Wallhead was a mixed martial arts event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on 10 September 2011 at the NIA Arena in Birmingham, England.-Background:...

BAMMA 6

BAMMA 6: Watson vs. Rua was a mixed martial arts event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on 21 May 2011 at the Wembley Arena in London, England.-Background:BAMMA 6 was announced during the television presentation of BAMMA 5....

London

, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|18-8
|Peter Duncan

Peter Duncan

Peter Duncan is the name of:* Peter Duncan , former Blue Peter presenter and former UK Chief Scout* Peter Duncan , Scottish Conservative Party politician, former Member of Parliament...

|KO (knees)
|BAMMA 5

BAMMA 5

BAMMA 5: Daley vs. Shira was a mixed martial arts event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on 26 February 2011 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England.-Background:BAMMA 5 was the first BAMMA event held outside of Birmingham or London...

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

Tim Radcliffe

Tim Radcliffe is an English mixed martial artist, who competes in the lightweight division. He is currently the UCMMA Lightweight Champion...

London

Barnsley

Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...

, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|16–7
|James Edson Berto

James Edson Berto

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, United States
|Won RFC Lightweight championship.
|-
| Win
|align=center|15–7
|James Edson Berto

James Edson Berto

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|14–7
|Alexandre Izidro

Alexandre Izidro

Alexandre "Xandinho" Izidro is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at age 14 and got his black belt at 20. He is a member of Brazilian Top Team and competes in the Lightweight division...

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

Paul sass

Paul Sass is an English mixed martial artist. He lives in Liverpool, training with Next Generation MMA and Team Kaobon.-Early career:Sass' professional MMA record stands at 12-0, with 8 of the victories by triangle choke...

Merseyside

Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

Eddie Ng

Eddie Ng is a Hong Kong mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 4-1.-Biography:Ng grew up in Chester-le-Street in North East England but both his parents are from Hong Kong...

Yorkshire

, England
|Defended Ultimate Force's Welterweight championship.
|-
| Win
|align=center|8–4
|Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins may refer to:*Paul Jenkins , Welsh Mixed Martial Artist*Paul Jenkins , British comic-book writer*Paul Jenkins , professor of poetry, Hampshire College*Paul Jenkins , U.S...

Doncaster