Joshua 'Zeus' Ignjatovic, journey to Last Fighter Standing
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Picture by LFS |
I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Ignjatovic for coffee
and an interview. Keeping everything cool and settling in, I was soon able to
get to know the guy behind the fighter. All this before the actual interview started.
Though a ring name as Zeus is enough to make any opponent shake in their boots,
(or gloves since MMA fighters don't wear boots), Josh is one of the nicest guys
I've met in a long time.
A dedicated fighter in MMA and K1, Joshua 'Zeus' Ignjatovic
knows what it takes to be at the top of his game and working hard to stay
there.
Starting out with Kickboxing in school as a way of self-defence,
he soon fell in love with the sport. He later on, with the motivation of his
girlfriend, joined Panther Fighter Arts and under the guidance of Anthony Kettle,
Josh soon got set for his first fight. Since that first fight, he went from
strength to strength. Though he has suffered his share of defeats, the pain of
a loss was taken away by the support from family and friends.
"I've been getting a lot of support
from them, especially my dad. He recently got very involved in Martial Arts,
driving me and pushing me a lot. He's getting very invested in it. My mom also
supports me but you know moms, they don’t enjoy having their boys smacked
around. My girlfriend has also been supporting me and helping me a lot,
especially on those days where i just couldn’t anymore. She’s definitely one of
my number one supporters."
He faced a tough as nails opponent in Juan Lagrotteria at
CFL 10 in a MMA bout for the vacant Lightweight title. A fight that went the
distance with neither one of them giving up an inch. He described this as one
of his best and toughest MMA opponents to date,
"I faced him for the CFL Lightweight title that was vacant at the
time. We were standing and trading for all five rounds...We left there
battered. That was my greatest MMA fight." with Rafial Wozniak being his
toughest K1 opponent, "...I faced Rafial from Thaiholics. He's also tough
as nails, refused to go down. He just stood and traded, He was like a terminator
that night...He was definitely my toughest stand up fighter."
Josh was set to face Christian Kamona Alvatar from G Force
in a title defence at CFL 15 on the 21st of May but decided to focus on his
inclusion in Last Fighter Standing.
A new promotion where martial artist of all backgrounds face each other for a coveted
LFS title and will also stand a chance to compete for their share of R500 000.
The winner in each division will also have the opportunity to be crowned the
South African Champion.
"LFS when it
kicks off will be huge and it’s a platform growing before it even started. LFS
is going international...with the basis starting at provincial then going
national and then international. So definitely sticking to LFS. So with it
being seasonal, I don’t want to stop fighting...maybe join EFC , have a contract long enough just to keep me
busy till LFS starts again. Once i become a champ at LFS, that's where i want
to stay."
Fighting out of a gym that has already seen a former EFC
Heavyweight Champion in Brandon Groenewald and former Title Contender in
Sibusiso Mdoko, the dream of taking the LFS Championship belt is everything but
just a dream.
"We all as fighters
drive each other...We know where we want to go and we all pushing for that and
having each other’s back...being in the same gym as former contenders is definitely
inspirational. Sibusiso is a dedicated fighter, he fights hard and he's tough
as nails and trains a lot...being in the same gym as former contenders is definitely
inspirational"
Just like his idol, UFC fighter Conor McGregor, Josh is a
flashy guy when it comes to his fighting style. Trying to match the style of
McGregor, he started experimenting with other forms of Martial Arts.
"...I try to bring something new, I’m a
very flashy kind of fighter. I like to do the spinning and flying stuff. So I
don't have anything specific. I feel out my opponent, see where he's going to.
When he is comfortable with something, I want to make him uncomfortable. I will
give him something he doesn't expect. A lot of guys don't learn to defend
against the flashy things. So if I can perfect those things, it would benefit
me and put my opponent on the back foot. Even if it doesn't connect, I will end
up being in his head because now he has to think about will I do it
again."
"I recently
started Capoeira, it's a great movement game and will help me with my Jits, my
core game and all round conditioning. The techniques are disguised by your
movements so a lot of the stuff is sneaky, which I love. I do Tae Kwondo as
well. That's where a lot of my flashy stuff comes from. With it being 90% legs
and 10% hands, it’s perfect to get my kicks where I want it to be. I also do
boxing, I love it. I love to keep my distance but when it comes down to
throwing hands, I throw hands. I do Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling. Wrestling has a
very controlling aspect. Look at the wrestlers in the UFC, they dominate the
sport because it’s very overwhelming thing to do. It breaks them down.
Jiu-Jitsu for all its open minded way on the game. There's an endless cycle.
Anything you think you can defend, there’s always an offensive move for it. For
every offence there’s a defence, for every defence there’s an offence. Soon
I'll start doing Judo for the throws"
If this isn't the definition of a complete and dedicated
fighter, then I don't know what is. To close of this article, I will leave you
with some more words from Joshua.
"...I know
exactly where I’m headed, where I want to be and when I want to make
it..."
Be sure to follow MMAFundi
as we will take you on the journey with Joshua 'Zeus' Ignjatovic on his road to
Last Fighter Standing.
Article by: Darren McLean
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