Easley High School grad Austin Lippincott (right) turned in a second-round knockout last Saturday night at The Market at the Mill in Pickens. Lippincott had several family and friends in attendance.
Mark Beery
PICKENS — Several people in the area remember Austin Lippincott as a standout wrestler for Easley High School. Currently, several others know him as the assistant varsity wrestling coach at Powdersville High School.
And for the past seven years, Lippincott has worked in Easley at Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor.
But last Saturday night, at the Conflict 64 Judgement Day, the 23-year-old Lippincott was on the big stage in the MMA world at Conflict 64 that was held at The Market at the Mill, in Pickens. The former Green Wave grappler turned in a second-round knockout over Cannon Brunson in front of close to 1,000 people and under the bright lights.
“I definitely felt a lot of pressure,” said the 2019 grad of EHS. “Growing up, I didn’t feel that pressure. This is a different type of pressure. You are locked in a cage with someone who is trying to hurt you just as bad as you are trying to hurt them. It gets really intense in there. Despite all of the people, you don’t hear all the noise. All I hear are my coaches and my teammates voices — I just get locked in and go to work.”
Lippincott did use his wrestling skills on Saturday night with some clutch take-downs on Brunson (see his video on The Easley Progress Facebook Page).
“The pace (of the match) started out very fast,” said the 5-foot-8 Lippincott, who also wrestled two years at Coker University. ”I was having trouble at first. I got my nose busted and wasn’t really moving my head. I was eating some kicks and knew I had to adjust and I had to stay calm – dial in on the game plan. I was able to figure out those overhands and get up under him, and get to the take-downs where I’m good at.”
The future does look bright for Lippincott in the MMA world.
“I hope to have a lengthy career in MMA fighting and pursue it to the professional level,” he said.
His opponent, Brunson, went to Florence Christian School and he wrestled three years at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina and six years in the U.S. Army National Guard.
“It was my first time doing this,” said Brunson, after the fight on Saturday night. “The fight was awesome and and Austin was awesome. I wish I was a little stronger in physical strength and cardio. And, I wish I could have trained more jujitsu, but I had all kinds of life circumstances leading up to the fight where I was only able to strike. Regardless of that, I thought it was fun. I gave it my best. I hope I gave all the glory to God – that’s all I can say.”
An extra thanks: After his victory on Saturday night, Austin did want to thank Julie Ellison at Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor.
“Miss Julie — thank you — for your good luck and spirit,” he said. “It really helped me out tonight.”
Lippincott then said he really appreciated all the support on Saturday night from his family, friends and teammates. “That means a lot,” he said. “Without you guys, I’m nothing.”
Lippincott went on to say, “I know a couple of workers from Joe’s are here and I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
Reach Jeff Holt at 864-855-0355.