Owen Livesey (born 3 August 1991) is a British

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

ka, submission wrestler, and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He notably competed in judo at an international level for Great Britain and England and won a gold medal at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in the Men's 81kg judo. He also competes in submission grappling and wrestling tournaments across Europe.

Personal history

Owen Livesey was born on 3 August 1991 in St Helens, Merseyside. 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.

Judo career

Prior to becoming a judoka, Livesey was a participant in

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

. He had hoped to be selected to represent Great Britain in judo at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, but was not, a disappointment which made Livesey ponder his continuation of the sport. 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. At the

held in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Livesey defeated John Muthee of

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in the round of 16. The quarter-final was against Zambia's

Boas Munyonga Boas Munyonga (born December 15, 1980, in Ndola) is a Zambian judoka. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Munyonga won Bronze in 81 kg men's category. He competed in the men's 81 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics and was eliminated ...

, and in the semi-finals Canadian

Jonah Burt Jonah Burt (born 5 September 1994) is a Canadian judoka. He competed in the men's 81 kg event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Game ...

was beaten. The final was against compatriot

Tom Reed Thomas or Tom Reed may refer to: Politicians and military * Thomas Buck Reed (1787–1829), senator from Mississippi * Thomas Reed (British Army officer) (1796–1883), British general * Thomas Brackett Reed (1839–1902), Speaker of the House of R ...

, which Livesey won in a five-minute bout. He is a three times champion of Great Britain, winning the half-middleweight division at the

British Judo Championships The British Judo Championships are held annually and feature various age and weight categories to determine the British champion. The Championships are currently held at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Until 2013, the Championships wer ...

in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Professional grappling career

2021-2022

Owen has found success in

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

competition, first competing for

Polaris Pro Grappling Polaris Pro Grappling is Europe's longest running large-scale professional grappling event. As of November 2019 Polaris has organized 12 events featuring both Gi and Nogi matches all of which have been held in the UK. Polaris has attracted s ...

at Polaris 18 on November 27, 2021, defeating Max Bickerton on the preliminary card. He returned at the promotion's next event on March 26, 2022 to compete against Freddie Vosgrone. Livesey won a unanimous decision against Vosgrone on the main card. On May 21, 2022, Livesey competed won a unanimous decision against Michael Pixley at Grapplefest 12. He was then invited to return to Polaris to compete at Polaris 21 against ADCC veteran

Josh Hinger Josh Hinger (born May 28, 1982) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor as well as former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Hinger is three-time champion at the World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champ ...

on September 24, 2022. At the 2022 Catch Wrestling World Championships hosted by The Snakepit at

The University of Bolton , established = 2004 – gained University Status 1982 – Bolton Institute of Higher Education , type = Public , endowment = £160,000 (2009) , administrative_staff = 700+ , chancellor ...

on June 4, Livesey won the heavyweight-100kg division. Shortly after, Livesey was announced as the official alternate for the under 99kg division at the

2022 ADCC World Championship The 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship was a two-day no-gi submission grappling event that took place on 17-18 September 2022 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. History The tournament was originally scheduled ...

. 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. Livesey was eliminated in the opening round by the eventual champion,

Kaynan Duarte Kaynan Casemiro Duarte (born January 24, 1998) is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. Duarte is a two-time champion at both the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship and World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu ...

. The following week on September 24, 2022, Livesey defeated Josh Hinger by split decision at Polaris 21. Livesey competed in the Polaris Middleweight Grand Prix on November 25, 2022. He was submitted by Hunter Colvin in the opening round.

2023

On March 11, 2023, Livesey was booked to compete against former UFC middleweight champion

Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

in the main event of Polaris 23. He won the match by unanimous decision. Livesey was scheduled to compete at Quintet 4 on September 10, 2023 where represented Team Polaris. Livesey drew his only match against

Nick Rodriguez Nicholas "Nick" Rodriguez, commonly known as Nicky Rod (born August 30, 1996) is an American professional submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) athlete. A former amateur wrestler, Rodriguez won in 2018 the ADCC West Coast Trials t ...

and his team went out in the opening round. Livesey then competed in an 8-man absolute grand prix tournament at Polaris 25 on September 30, 2023. He went out in the opening round after losing a decision to Fabricio Andrey. Livesey competed in a catch wrestling match against

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...

at The Snake Pit World Championships 2023 on October 28, 2023. He won the match by decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Livesey made his professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

debut in April 2021, beating Liam Gregory by TKO in the first round.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livesey, Owen 1991 births Living people English male judoka Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Judoka at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from St Helens, Merseyside Commonwealth Games medallists in judo European Games competitors for Great Britain Judoka at the 2015 European Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games