Bywater won the final with a triangle choke about halfway through the fight to give him the title.

He said it was a great reward for all the effort he has put in during the preparation.

“It is the best feeling. There is honestly no single greater rush but when you win the gold medal,” he said.

“I was coming off a loss going into the weekend, so I had these doubts but when you win, you realise this is why I do this.”

The national champion said he did not have any specific goals he was aiming for, but was pleased with his performance across the day, also finishing fourth in the open division.

“I didn’t have any expectations. The preparation went so well, I could not have asked for a better lead-in,” he said.

“I was in a really good shape and in my mind I have trained really hard and now I get to compete, so it was a chance just to go out and do that.”

Bywater said the nature of the sport means you cannot really do too much planning ahead of each fight.

“You cannot really go into it with a plan, You know your own strengths and weaknesses but you have no idea what your opponents will do,” he said.

“Once you step up on the mat, you make it up as you go.

“But you have to be prepared for all options. There are some similarities but certain people have different body types and different types of experience.”

The Ararat resident is not having much rest, and will return to competition in two weeks for his next fight in Melbourne.

He said it was an intense day but was already looking ahead.

“I am a little bit sore and stiff, but nothing too crazy,” he said. “In terms of injury, I have come out of it unscathed and am back into training already.”