I started fighting as a means to focus my life as I felt I was steadily heading down the wrong road. I lacked goals or direction and wasn’t one for normal life – I couldn’t see myself doing any jobs for long, or even getting a job for that matter.
I had watched loads of MMA on TV and got inspired to give it a try after seeing local MMA fighters who had made a name for themselves on the big shows, and were also making a living from fighting.
I already knew I could fight before I walked into my first martial arts class – Fighting is in my blood as I have numerous fighters in my family, mostly boxers on my mother’s side. My dad is also involved in martial arts and is a 5th Dan black belt in karate.
Despite this background I had limited martial arts training but with growing up in Nottingham, it wasn’t hard to find “sparring partners” which made me realise I could scrap.