Weston’s Marc Aplin won gold in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu final at the Hereford Open.

WESTON’S Marc Aplin has taken a gold medal in his weight class at one of the country’s most distinguished Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions, the Hereford Open.

The tournament was run in a knockout style where competitors must either force their opponent to submit or earn victory following the IBJJF’s point-based system.

After four closely-fought matches, Marc met William Haycox in the final who, in addition to racking up 17 gold medals at various competitions in the past year and being 7-0 in mixed martial arts, had beaten him narrowly in a recent competition.

The match was a back-and-forth-affair, William having the slight strength advantage and Marc having the better movement. In the end, Marc was able to bring the gold back to Weston with a 4-2 win in a non-stop contest full of transitions and submission attempts.

Marc said: “Fighting Will again and managing to get the win is something that means more to me than the gold medal. I watched him walk through his opponents in the Bournemouth Open recently and quickly found myself agreeing with everybody else there that he is something special. The fact I was able to beat him, I guess, shows me a lot about my own talent and abilities.”

Marc continues to train hard under former British MMA champion, Alex Owen, and with Jiu Jitsu black belt, Ian Rossiter.