Michael Grundy serves as the head wrestling coach at one of the UK's premier mixed martial arts facilities, Team Kaobon. Representing Great Britain internationally on the wrestling circuit, he is well versed in the freestyle and greco roman styles, and even some catch wrestling.

Grundy also took to the cage to compete in his first amateur MMA bout in 2011 and was successful in the first round. Using his knowledge of the wrestling game to help the guys at Kaobon, he is branching out with www.MMAWrestling.co.uk and we caught up with Grundy to talk about the new venture.

(Grundy in action)

YourMMA.tv: Mike, you're promoting your business www.mmawrestling.co.uk and you've been active within the MMA scene for quite a while now. What are your main hopes for the company and what made you decide to start up running seminars?

Michael Grundy: Yeah, it’s been a while now. MMA Wrestling is here to run a number of events throughout the year like tournaments, courses and seminars. I decided to start doing this as I like to coach and see people get better, and I like the challenge of adjusting the wrestling techniques to make them work for MMA. "It seems like a different sport when the little tweaks have been made.”

YourMMA.tv: How did you get involved in MMA in the first place?

MG: I have always loved MMA. When we were at the GB wrestling academy we would always have a joke around after training, chuck some gloves on and have a spar or some submissions, but the reason I ended up getting involved was because my mate Shane Rigby asked me to come down and help Terry Etim at team Kaobon as he had a fight coming up in the UFC. So I was just a wrestling training partner for him at first, then it lead on to a bit of coaching and now I am the head wrestling coach.

YourMMA.tv: You've been in the cage yourself now. Does that help you prepare other fighters for combat and do you plan on making a run for more MMA fights in the future?

MG: Yeah, it helps a lot as I can see how hard the sport really is and I can understand more about what wrestling techniques work for MMA, what can be used and also how to flow from take down into submission. I definitely intend on fighting again.

YourMMA.tv: You've been working with the guys at Kaobon for a long time now. How have you seen those guys come on? What is it like working with UFC-level athletes like Terry Etim, Mark Scanlon, Paul Sass and Paul Taylor?

MG: It’s a real honour coaching the UFC guys and to be coaching wrestling at Kaobon. The team there is outstanding and there is a lot of talent up and coming also.

YourMMA.tv: Who would you say are the best wrestlers in UK MMA, fighting both domestically and internationally?

MG: There are a few underestimated with their wrestling in the UK. I was quite impressed with John Maguire’s wrestling at UFC 138 in Birmingham, but I can only comment on the guys I have trained with and coached. Mark Scanlon is very talented with his wrestling and Terry Etim is underestimated. They could both be very good wrestlers.

YourMMA.tv: How has MMA in this country affected wrestling here? Positively or negatively?

MG: I think MMA has upped the profile for wrestling; most people haven't really heard of wrestling in this country so it’s all good.

YourMMA.tv: Are you seeing positive signs for UK fighters in terms of their skills? How long will it take to get things engrained in the sport of MMA here, if ever?

MG: I think more and more people are now understanding that they need to wrestle to be a complete fighter. They just have to have the right coaching out there and wrestling in UK MMA could be a lot better. As we see in the UFC, the most dominant competitors are good wrestlers.

YourMMA.tv: What do you hope to achieve within the next twelve months with MMA Wrestling?

MG: Well we have our first MMA Wrestling tournament on February 19th, 2012 to help guys finally get the wrestling experience they need on the wrestling mat. We have seminars and MMA Wrestling courses coming up in the New Year too. We just want the sport here to get a better understanding of wrestling and how much our events will benefit them.

YourMMA.tv: Do you have anything else to add about mmawrestling.co.uk?

MG: All our events are starting from January 2012. Check out our website for all the information or contact us.

The continued success of the Team Kaobon fighters and praise from world class fighters such as Etim, Scanlon and Sass shows that Grundy is doing something right in Liverpool. Visit www.mmawrestling.co.uk if you want to know more about what he can do for you or your club.

MMA Wrestling would like to thank APTUS, Wigan and Leigh wrestling club, Mercedes Benz, Exclusive Motors and Lions Den Fitness Centre.