British Member of Parliament Will Stone was unsuccessful in his Polaris debut yesterday as he was forced to tap out within five minutes.
The popular politician is a Labour Party member, and represents Swindon North in British Parliament after winning election earlier this year. Prior to that, he had run a Jiu-Jitsu gym and earned a judo black belt during 17 years of martial arts training.
However, he came unstuck at Polaris 30 in London last night as he lost to Cage Warriors veteran Matt Inman. The pair committed to donate their purses to charity after competing on the event, which was headlined by Michael 'Venom' Page vs Carlos Condit.
On the prelims of yesterday's Polaris 30 event in London, Labour Party MP Will Stone made his return to grappling competition for a special bout. He faced off with MMA fighter Matt Inman, who holds a 20-11 record that includes 12 fights under the Cage Warriors banner.
The duo got into action quickly, with Inman showing the levels difference early as he pushed for the legs against a rustier rival. While Stone had a massive amount of experience behind him, it paled in comparison to Inman's regular competition in grappling and MMA.
Stone spent a good amount of his time in the rubber guard as Inman pushed towards a finish, using his body lock to remain tight and shut down his opponent. And eventually he made his way into mount as he pushed for the final position.
Ultimately, Stone had to succumb to an Americana attempt, which Inman locked in from the mount position. He made sure to tap quickly to save his arm, with the pair embracing after the fact following a bout for a good cause.
While the Labour MP was attempting to raise the profile of BJJ with his performance, he also committed to fund a local charity with his purse for the event. Stone had previously gone through trials for Polaris 10, but was able to get his opportunity yesterday as something of a celebrity guest.
"It was very intense," he said after the fact. "I did want to win but the expectations I set out beforehand, where I gave myself a 20 per cent chance of winning, were probably a bit overly ambitious. I really enjoyed it and it was phenomenal to be there."
Both he and Inman had volunteered to give up their payouts for the event to The Kelly Foundation. The charity provides an holistic approach to poor mental health and is based in Stone's constituency of North Swindon.
"I did the trials for Polaris twice and didn't quite make the cut," Stone said before the bout took place. "But after I became the first ever Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt MP, they reached out to me. It's an amazing opportunity to elevate the sport so I had to take it."