Owen Livesey
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1991-08-03) 3 August 1991 (age 32)
St Helens , England
Sport
SportJudo
EventMen's 81 kilograms
Medal record
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Men's 81kg judo

Owen Livesey (born 3 August 1991) is a British judoka, submission wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He notably competed in judo at an international level for Great Britain and England and won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the Men's 81kg judo. He also competes in submission grappling and wrestling tournaments across Europe. [1]

Personal history

Owen Livesey was born on 3 August 1991 in St Helens, Merseyside.[2] Livesey has two sisters, named Bekky Livesey and Amy Livesey, both of whom participate in judo and have both won British championships at half-middleweight.[3][4]

Judo career

"It's good to beat someone from home, there's a bit of tension there because you know each other so well. I had a year out when I was 18 and didn't really care about judo. but I came back, got my head in and got the result. You get out what you put in. And I got out exactly what I put in".

BBC quoting Livesey[2]

Prior to becoming a judoka, Livesey was a participant in rugby league.[2] He had hoped to be selected to represent Great Britain in judo at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London, but was not, a disappointment which made Livesey ponder his continuation of the sport.[2] Livesey is a 2nd dan black belt in judo, gaining his 1st dan at the age of 16, and trained at SKK Judo Club where he was coached by Peter Blood and Luke Preston.[3]

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland, Livesey defeated John Muthee of Kenya in the round of 16. The quarter-final was against Zambia's Boas Munyonga, and in the semi-finals Canadian Jonah Burt was beaten.[5] The final was against compatriot Tom Reed, which Livesey won in a five-minute bout.[6]

He is a three times champion of Great Britain, winning the half-middleweight division at the British Judo Championships in 2013, 2014 and 2017.[7]

Professional grappling career

2021-2022

Owen has found success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling competition, first competing for Polaris Pro Grappling at Polaris 18 on November 27, 2021, defeating Max Bickerton on the preliminary card.[8] He returned at the promotion's next event on March 26, 2022 to compete against Freddie Vosgrone.[9] Livesey won a unanimous decision against Vosgrone on the main card.[10] On May 21, 2022, Livesey competed won a unanimous decision against Michael Pixley at Grapplefest 12.[11] He was then invited to return to Polaris to compete at Polaris 21 against ADCC veteran Josh Hinger on September 24, 2022.[12]

At the 2022 Catch Wrestling World Championships hosted by The Snakepit at The University of Bolton on June 4, Livesey won the heavyweight-100kg division.[13] Shortly after, Livesey was announced as the official alternate for the under 99kg division at the 2022 ADCC World Championship.[14] He was given the call to compete with around a week's notice, as Luccas Lira Costa was forced to withdraw due to visa issues.[15] Livesey was eliminated in the opening round by the eventual champion, Kaynan Duarte.[16] The following week on September 24, 2022, Livesey defeated Josh Hinger by split decision at Polaris 21.[17] Livesey competed in the Polaris Middleweight Grand Prix on November 25, 2022.[18] He was submitted by Hunter Colvin in the opening round.[19]

2023

On March 11, 2023, Livesey was booked to compete against former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main event of Polaris 23.[20] He won the match by unanimous decision.[21] Livesey was scheduled to compete at Quintet 4 on September 10, 2023 where represented Team Polaris.[22] Livesey drew his only match against Nick Rodriguez and his team went out in the opening round.[23] Livesey then competed in an 8-man absolute grand prix tournament at Polaris 25 on September 30, 2023.[24] He went out in the opening round after losing a decision to Fabricio Andrey.[25]

Livesey competed in a catch wrestling match against Josh Barnett at The Snake Pit World Championships 2023 on October 28, 2023.[26] He won the match by decision.[27]

Mixed martial arts career

Livesey made his professional mixed martial arts debut in April 2021, beating Liam Gregory by TKO in the first round.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Owen Livesey profile". Judo Inside. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Dirs, Ben (25 July 2014). "Glasgow 2014: England and Scotland continue judo dominance". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Owen Livesey". British Judo. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Amy Livesey wins European gold medal". St Helens Star. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Owen Livesey". Commonwealth Games 2014. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Men's -81kg Final - Gold Medal Contest". Commonwealth Games 2014. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. ^ "British Judo Championship Results 2003 to present". British Judo. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Polaris 18 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. ^ Burne, Kathrine. "A Title-Fight And Two More Elite Matches Added To Polaris 19". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Polaris 19 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Grapplefest 12 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ^ Lindsey, Alex. "Polaris 21 Set To Be First Event Outside UK". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Catch Wrestling World Championships 2022". Snakepit Wigan. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  14. ^ Burne, Kathrine. "Official Alternates Announced For ADCC 2022". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  15. ^ Jones, Phil. "Owen Livesey Called Up To Compete At 99kg For ADCC 2022". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  16. ^ "ADCC 2022 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Polaris 21 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  18. ^ Rogers, Kian. "Full Lineup Confirmed For Polaris 22: Middleweight Grand Prix". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Polaris 22: Middleweight Grand Prix Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  20. ^ Rogers, Kian. "Polaris 23 To Feature Chris Weidman v Owen Livesey And Incredible Grand Prix Lineup". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Polaris 23 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  22. ^ Blackett, Todd. "Full Lineup Announced For Quintet 4 Teams". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Quintet 4 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  24. ^ Lindsey, Alex. "Polaris 25 Absolute Grand Prix Lineup Confirmed". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Polaris 25 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  26. ^ Blackett, Todd. "Josh Barnett Takes On Owen Livesey In Catch Wrestling". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Owen Livesey Beats Josh Barnett At Catch Wrestling World Championship 2023". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Owen Livesey MMA stats". Sherdog. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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