MMA ref gives Tigers fighting chanceAl Paton
Herald Sun
16 December 2016DON’T expect Richmond players to back down from a stoush on the field next season after the Tigers appointed a mixed martial arts referee to their coaching staff.
MMA judge Greg Kleynjans is the new Richmond boxing and grappling coach, replacing long-time employee John Vickery — who has departed the Tigers along with his son Ty, who is now at Hawthorn.
Richmond has turned over almost its entire coaching staff — except head coach Damien Hardwick — after finishing 13th in 2016.
A former fighter himself, South Australian-born Kleynjans was inside the cage for recent MMA events in Adelaide and Canberra, officiated UFC 193 fights at Etihad Stadium last year and has worked in the US, China and Japan.
He was part of the TV reality show The Ultimate Fighter and is an instructor at the Herb Dean Referee School in Pasadena, California.
Referee Greg Kleynjans (right) announces Jake Matthews winner by TKO over Akbarh Arreola during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium last November.
“I’m an ex-footballer from a long long time ago, never reached any great heights,” he told the Tigers website. “I got involved in martial arts as a young guy, all different forms and it’s taken me to here.”
Kleynjans said he pursued a judging career after watching a ref at a junior event do a “terrible” job.
“I thought I can’t be one of those guys who sits back and criticises referees, so I went to America and got certified, and since then I’ve been refereeing for the last 12 years all around the world.”
Kleynjans has worked with Port Adelaide in the past and says his focus at Punt Rd so far has been on discipline and respect.
“We’re really working on footwork drills, stance, posture. There is a conditioning aspect to it but they get plenty of cardio out on the track so that’s not a big emphasis.
“We’re not looking at who can hit the hardest or who can hit the fastest, we’re looking at things they can implement into their own game.”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/mma-referee-greg-kleynjans-joins-richmond-as-boxing-and-grappling-coach/news-story/54c40fa04b4872634529e5d0b78a27ef
