Caption: Ahmad Faez Anuar (3rd L) on top of the podium at the 1st Borneo Fight Fest in Sabah over the weekend. Picture: Courtesy of Eazy Anuar
Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
AHMAD Faez Anuar conquered the 1st Borneo Fight Fest in Sabah after winning the absolute title of Mata Leao Submission Grappling, consolidating his place as the best in Borneo and among the best in the region.
The seasoned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu purple holder submitted three of his opponents before beating bigger opponent Samuel Lai of Sabah's Borneo Tribal Squad in the final for the title over the weekend.
"Straight (competing) to the absolute (combined weight classes) was my target as I was adamant on getting that belt," Ahmad Faez, who is better better known as Eazy, told BruSports News in a recent interview.
"I knew Samuel (Lai) is a strong opponent, physically and skilfully. So I had to time my moves right. Putting on the pressure early and only taking it up a notch higher towards the last remaining minutes," he added.
Eazy last competed at the IBJJF Worlds Masters in Las Vegas where he managed to break into the top eight of the highly stacked division of 64 competitors, and the Busiido BJJ head coach has never looked back.
"After the Worlds, I mainly focused on submission grappling and nogi at both Busiido BJJ and Wolfpack," he continued.
"Both crews helped me get ready. We focused more on positions, foot and leg attacks as well as bicep and calf slicers as the tournament followed Luta Livre rules.
"As for strength and conditioning, I spent some time at the gym working on my strength and endurance, did more heavy lifting this time as I didn't need to cut weight," added Eazy.
The 32-year-old dedicated his victory to his wife and son who have been the driving force for his success.
"Alhamdulillah that God allowed me to grab this victory and keeping me safe from injuries," said Eazy.
"My wife and son, especially, motivated me to do well and they are the reason for me to be good at what I do and this belt is for them.
"And also to my guys who took time to train submission grappling with me at both Busiido BJJ in Bandar and Wolfpack in Tutong, their commitment to help me improve is astounding. To coach Jay at classicbootcamp for the strength work. Solid!" he added.
Crowned the best in Borneo, Eazy remained humble and rather focused on a series of tournament lined up for him and the team in the coming months: Sabah Grappling Quest, Copa De Malaysia and Carlson Gracie Cup in Bangkok
"Well, I don't think too much of it (being the best in Borneo), I always consider myself lucky when I win the tournament," said Eazy.
"I still feel that this is again another stepping stone and a learning process.
“I wouldn't consider myself the best in Borneo though, as there are a lot more respectable grapplers out there,” he added.
"We have more tournaments lined up in the coming months… good things are coming our way for the local scene.
"There will be a new training facility that would be dedicated to professional training and top tier quality with local tournaments at an interesting venue is also in the pipeline. It will be announced soon, so watch out for these two upcoming events," concluded Eazy.
