Fight success for Chloe

CHLOE Crozier was in winning form at the weekend.

In what was a bit of grudge match the Ahoghill IMMA fighter beat Sarah Elliott, of SBG Charlestown, Dublin, in the IUR fight night at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry.

Crozier (22) completed an armbar submission two minutes and 31 seconds in the third and final round.

Rodney Moore, Head coach from the IMMA Gym in George Street, Ballymena, where social worker Crozier fights out of, said it was a superb performance from his fighter who has “improved leaps and bounds in every area of her fight game.”

“I’m so happy and proud to see her get this win. It means so much to her and we all at the club know how good she really is. She is complete pleasure to train and coach. We are all super proud of her at the club. This year will be a great year for her in the MMA scene,” enthused coach Moore.

The 500 sell-out show was Crozier’s first outing this year against a very tough opponent.

The duo had met in combat before with Elliott nipping a very close split decision in February 2024.

A rematch fell through on two occasions through injuries, so this was a fight that had built up a lot of anticipation and one that the MMA scene wanted to see.

Quite a battle lay in prospect.

Crozier, a 57kg fighter, stepped up a weight class to 61.2kg, to take this rematch challenge on.

The Ahoghill ace was unreal and got her striking off first and controlled things on the feet.

But Elliott always seemed to land a couple of big shots towards the end of the rounds, and that can steal it in the eyes of some of the judges.

Going into the third round - knowing that the first two rounds were super close - was make or break time for both.

“The first two rounds were mainly striking and clinch work so we decided in the corner that in the third round Chloe was to get the fight to the ground and inflict her skills and dominance there,” outlined head coach Moore.

“One and a half minutes in Chloe did just that, controlling and nullifying her opponent while throwing some strikes to set up her armbar submission finish at 2 minutes 31 seconds in the third and final round,” said Moore.

* This weekend local club fighter Rachel ‘The Diva’ McIlhagga will be involved in a K1 Kickboxing title eliminator scrap in Dublin.