By IMMAF.org lead writer, Jorden Curran 22-year-old Lee Hammond recently qualified for Ireland’s national amateur MMA team, set to compete at international IMMAF championships throughout 2018. The Dubliner and SBG Ireland product took on MMA Cork’s Jack Monahan in a 2018 lightweight qualifying bout at Cage Legacy 7. After a pressing start from Monahan who sought to pin Hammond against the fence, Hammond dragged his opposition into deep waters on the ground where the submission specialist found his way to sinking in a rear-naked-choke to end the bout in the second round. Replay at bottom of the page. Hammond, a regular training partner of UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, will now once again represent his country on the international IMMAF platform. Having been forced to withdraw from the 2017 IMMAF World Championships due to injury, he was replaced by Ciaran Clarke who showcased an impressive run of form in Bahrain, eliminating number-one seed Tobias Harila (Sweden) and narrowly missed out on a guaranteed medal after a split-decision loss in the quarter-finals to eventual silver medalist Vitali Andruhovich (Belarus). Hammond returns to the Irish MMA Association (IMMAA) squad having last featured at the 2016 European Open Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, where he earned the silver medal in the Men’s lightweight division. He also earned bronze the previous year, at the 2015 European Open in Birmingham, UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXriCfKu1DQ]]>
