South Leeds lad Josh Emms had always admired MMA fighters who “have the courage to give it their all in the cage” and decided that he wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of experiencing his own bout.
“I started going over to Morley to train at AVT when I turned 18,” said Josh. “I’d been there for about six months and then found out about Ultra MMA which arranges training and then puts on a show where each novice fights a fellow novice from their training group. There’s no charge but you must sell ten tickets for the show and fundraise for a charity of your choice. I raised funds for the British Heart Foundation who do great work combatting the biggest killer in the UK and which affects everyone directly or indirectly.
“Win or lose I wanted to be on that show. Prove to an audience including my family and friends but mainly myself that I could do this. Perhaps taste just for a day how it might feel to be an MMA star. I enjoyed every step of the process including the often-gruelling training. The atmosphere at the show was exciting and the bouts exhilarating and enthralling. I felt supported having experienced AVT fighters Tom Crosby and Ocean Davies in my corner and I was delighted to get the win against a tough opponent in Tyler Gage.”
“Everyone in the group got on well and it became tight knit. But that didn’t stop us from giving the opponent what for. That’s what we wanted and what the audience expected. That said, don’t expect to see professional MMA. As an example, although we could hit in the face when standing there was no punching to the head of a grounded opponent.”
“The show was just fantastic and a fitting end to challenging training. You need to make taking part your personal priority for a couple of months but for me at 19 this was an excellent entry to adult life. I’d encourage any young person to get into combat sports whether it’s for fitness or competition as you learn transferable skills while developing confidence. The next Leeds Ultra event is in November, so volunteers have got the summer to get fit.”
Josh, Tyler and 32 others raised £11,700 for their charities. Ultra MMA returns to the Village Hotel Leeds North on 28 November with training beginning in September. Competitors must be aged 18 or older on the date training starts. Sign up at https://www.ultra-mma.co.uk.
This post was written by James Bovington
Photo L-R: Josh and Tyler
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