My trip and visit to train at Joe Lopez Freesyle MMA gym under the coaching of Joe and Alex Volkanovski was well planned and fully supported by the team at the Todd Group and Combat Sports School.

Tanks connection with the Doc Steffan was how the introduction to Alex and Joe happened and how the invitation to visit during Alex’s training camp was made possible.

From my airport transfers to my accommodation and sponsorship all I had to do was focus on the training and this made things very good for me.

From day one, I was made to feel very welcome and all the people at Freestyle MMA were respectful and friendly.

On the first day it was jujitsu open roll training in the morning where I’m pleased to say my first roll was with Alex.

The afternoon was sparring with professional fighters only and my first thought was I am the only amateur here.

Quickly I felt I could hold my own under the training levels, especially with all the fighters being so controlled careful and respectful.

From then on it was daily training from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and evening training from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

I got to be trained by both Joe and Alex and was most fortunate to be able to drill techniques with Alex.

Some of the valuable aspects I learnt with Alex included cage control tactics for both defence and offence.

Other areas included pinning and submission techniques along with wall takedowns.

Both the training and sparring made me think about what I could do and how I could be doing things better.

Justin Van Heerden who is the Eternal featherweight champion along with Blake Donnelly a former Eternal lightweight champion, Eternal fighter Sebastian Szalay and Jamie Malarkey a UFC fighter were some of the fighters I was able to train with.

Week three Alex brought in Blood Diamond and Brentin Mumford to join the training camp and these were two more top guys and good fighters.

I participated in the fight fitness training 18 minute long lactic acid test on Thursday mornings along with Alex and the other fighters and then Alex would do two more intensive workouts of 15 and 25 minutes duration.

I got to do two mornings in the last week of strength and conditioning with Alex coached by Chris Jaffrey high-performance coach at the high-performance centre.

Even though the strength and conditioning training was lighter sessions for Alex, I found it to be challenging and very good.

There was a lot of mobility and correcting of movements to ensure best practices were developed and maintained.

I got to meet Alex’s nutritionist Jordan Sullivan and in general got to experience a wide range of training and the coaches and specialists involved with Alex’s training and preparing him for his upcoming UFC world featherweight title fight defence.

Just being around the fighters and involved with the training camp was a somewhat different experience to my amateur training and gave me an important insight into what is involved with and required to train at a top professional level.

I was even present when some of the promo filming for Alex’s upcoming UFC world title fight defence was being shot.

Joe right from the outset showed me the upmost hospitality and is a real hard case that likes a good laugh and I could only describe him as a lovely man.

He was not only a top coach but was so willing to help me in any way with his attention to detail eye for what is needed.

He is such a busy man and is on the road every weekend with fighters and back in the gym come Monday.

Joe is skilled in both jujitsu and stand-up fighting coaching and has an excellent eye in reading a fight and fighters with his high level fight IQ.

Alex the UFC world featherweight champion and pound for pound UFC best fighter is so humble and approachable always giving fans and up-and-coming fighters his sincere attention.

He made me feel welcome from the first day and being able to spend time with him outside of training was a privilege and made me feel most welcome.

I can only describe him as not only a great champion but also an excellent coach that pays attention to all the small details and his personal work ethic and strength is off the charts.

When Alex resists or gets hold of you, it’s like being locked in a vice and not able to go anywhere which is something that I will strive to develop.

He showed me things that work for him and with us being of similar builds and in the same weight division work for me.

His wall recovery felt like he was a step ahead of the scramble always. His mind-set, stand-up and ground game skills and physical fitness and strength would make him close to impossible for any opponent to submit.

His stand-up fighting was lightning fast and his position always perfect for what he was executing.

In the blink of an eye, he can identify weakness like if you are off-balance or in a vulnerable position and can exploit it like it’s second nature.

It was controlled and respectful sparring, but I was under no illusion of his strength and power.

His punches and kicks were excellently timed and hard to see and when combined with his feints, contact would be inevitable.

Alex’s wrestling was impressive and his top pressure as well as against the cage was devastating to say the least.

Alex commented how he can identify movements intuitively and he could see that in me to, which made me feel pleased.

Alex has adapted his wrestling specific to MMA and the cage and this is something of major interest to me with wrestling being my first and primary combat sport code.

My wrestling definitely was of a major benefit during the training camp like it was in winning my amateur world MMA title.

Alex is very genuine, easy to talk to and generous and I was privileged and fortunate to be included by him during his training camp as well as outside of training.

Initially it was difficult not to feel in awe of the top blokes and the great champion that Alex is, but right from the outset, he treated me like a friend and training partner.

I just wanted to be a part of his training camp build up and be of assistance and not be like a fan. I did not want to be treated differently to anyone else in the gym and I was made to feel like a friend and training partner right from the outset, just the way I wanted it to be.

This was a dream come true and a very special experience that confirmed exactly what professional fight training is like compared to amateur training.

Although you can feel challenged, I felt this is where I want to be and the level of training and presented challenges only have inspired me.

I still find it hard to believe that I was training with Alex and can’t wait to get back over there again.

This was a top experience and it was great to see and feel what the next level up felt like.

Alex said I was welcome back any time which was a good feeling and not that I needed any incentive to return but it felt good to be welcome and wanted as part of such a top line team of fighters that are also really good guys.

This being a first-time visit and first-time introduction to Joe and Alex, I had some initial nerves, but there down to earth personalities and top hospitality soon put that at ease and enabled me to get on with the training.

Now that I’m back home and do not have any immediate upcoming fights I will be working on what I have learnt along with keeping fighting fit, remaining ready should any opportunities present themselves.

I will keep up my training with Caleb at the Combat Sports School, including my first love and primary combat sport of wrestling along with my training with Matt at hammerhead MMA.

Between fights, I will work on the gems learned from Alex and Joe and continue to work on all my required skills development.

Tank and the team at the Todd Group supported my training visit with Alex and Joe and Tank told me our founder, the late Harry Baldock would be very proud of me being our first combat sports member in over 100 years to win a world title in any combat sports code. He would be especially proud of me being a wrestler that achieved success on a world stage. It was Harry that told Tank he believed in Tanks lifetime wrestling would come back to dominate or be a force to be reckoned with in combat sports which has certainly happened with so many wrestling based top fighters and champions in the UFC and other promotions.

All of us that support Kasib and the Todd Group look forward to Kasibs ongoing progress and achievement and are pleased that this trip across the Tasman has put things in perspective for him to where he stands and what he can achieve as a fighter.