0:00
Jamaica was like a was normal like
0:08
normal I got involved in mixed martial
0:10
arts at the age 17 U my mom suggested me
0:13
going to the gym cuz I was involved in
0:16
like gangs and get into trouble so I
0:18
just said I'll give it a go just to put
0:20
your energy somewhere else it's daunting
0:22
you know like to go into like a new
0:23
environment everyone just like all the
0:25
professionals there all amateurs and you
0:27
walk in and then from being like
0:28
thinking you're like a tough kid on on
0:30
Street and going into an environment
0:31
where these kids are like trained
0:33
Fighters it's definitely like a humbling
0:36
experience you know everyone tracing the
0:38
same goal right like everyone's aim is
0:40
to be the UFC and become the UFC world
0:42
champion you know everyone's is turning
0:44
up every morning for that same goal so I
0:47
feel like you can feel the energy in in
0:49
the gym when you're walking and it's
0:51
like a Brotherhood now been probably
0:52
been together now for like 10 10
0:56
years MMA got me out of trouble just by
0:59
giving G me a different Focus um I lost
1:01
my dad quite young I think that's the
1:02
reason why I was like Spiral down the
1:04
wrong path I think that that's what what
1:06
kept me in the gy as well just having
1:07
like positive feedback everyone kept
1:09
saying how good it was and how fast I
1:10
was learning it and how much I was
1:12
moving forward so fast you know so I
1:14
think that's what motivated me and kept
1:16
me more more in the gym you know so to
1:18
be able to now be in the position we I'm
1:20
now the world champion where I can say
1:22
I'm in the same bracket as a GSP for
1:25
example um it's a proud moment you know
1:31
13-year-old Leon could look at you now
1:33
what do you think one he would think and
1:35
what would you say he'd be shocked you
1:37
know cuz like I said I don't I didn't
1:38
know what mixed martial arts was you
1:40
know so I feel like I I live like two
1:42
different lives you know to be born in
1:45
poverty in Jamaica then immigrated to
1:47
the UK then got involved in like gangs
1:50
and Street stuff and then got involved
1:52
mix martial arts and B Champion it's
1:54
like three different lives that I've
1:56
like went been through and lived you
2:00
to be born in Kingston Jamaica um then
2:02
coming to Birmingham it's just a totally
2:05
different life and environment you know
2:07
like Birmingham like Jamaica was like a
2:09
war zone so you come from there into
2:11
like Birmingham then you speak like a
2:13
different language so like you go to
2:14
school like you always getting into
2:15
trouble in school keep fighting to like
2:17
people like kids are like making fun of
2:18
your accent I SP Pat at the time CU born
2:21
in Jamaica and um yes it was defin for a
2:24
different life but I knew it was like a
2:26
a safer life right even though we
2:28
weren't we didn't have to most money but
2:31
there was it was a better environment at
2:32
the time like I said my dad was involved
2:34
in gang he was like the leader of the
2:35
gang in my area in Jamaica where I grew
2:37
up and um that's just like normal like
2:39
gunshots and you not normal it's not
2:43
normal but like looking back now it's
2:45
like it's not normal by the time it is a
2:48
normal childhood in Jamaica like my
2:50
neighbors are living the same way you
2:51
know so like I said my dad was the also
2:54
the Breen of the family he was he was
2:56
the guy that brought us to the UK so he
2:57
was like sh like died quite early us
3:00
coming to the UK so my mom was kind of
3:02
like still trying to figure out life in
3:04
a new country you know have the support
3:06
system that she had and my dad taken
3:09
away I think we all felt it right at the
3:12
time and um yeah it definitely affected
3:15
all of us I would say it was that it was
3:17
at night I remember like being asleep my
3:22
call about what happened I
3:25
Wasing like like I was in my room so I
3:27
heard my mom crying then she came in my
3:29
room Tom whing and then um yeah I he
3:32
start crying and stuff and that was like
3:34
a a traumatic day right like I was
3:37
everyone lose parents but to leave lose
3:39
your such a support system at the time
3:42
which my dad was at um to lose that at
3:45
13 years old it was a a lot for me a lot
3:49
for my family a lot for for for everyone
3:51
you know you get more rebellious right
3:54
after you lose a parent especially in
3:56
the way in the manner I did um you kind
3:58
of like blame the world world for your
4:01
problems and went down the wrong path as
4:03
most kids probably would from being but
4:07
being in environment and having your dad
4:08
been murdered and you kind of just will
4:10
like lose that guidance in your life
4:12
right and yeah so I went down that bad
4:14
path and involved in mixed martial arts
4:16
quite late and um yeah and used that to
4:20
change my life and change change my
4:23
know I put so much time into mixed
4:25
martial arts and all my all my energy
4:27
into it I expect to win you you know so
4:30
when when I lose is is um definely heart
4:32
heartbreaking you know so I do like a
4:34
lot of soul searching for I was like
4:36
what am I doing wrong in the gym like
4:38
can I make a career from Birmingham do I
4:40
need to move to America to to improve or
4:42
what but then I settled down into like
4:44
getting my I went traveling first to to
4:47
see what's out there um then I realize
4:50
everything I need is in Birmingham but
4:51
the more you win the more you believe in
4:53
your team more you believe in your
4:54
environment and yourself and I think
4:56
just like spare everyone on forward you
4:59
know that what what we're doing here in
5:00
Birmingham is is working and um as long
5:03
as we keep on the same ball we can
5:05
achieve world championships you know and
5:08
um so I think yeah the more I won the
5:11
more confident I got and the more
5:12
confident my team got you know and the
5:14
more belief we we had in ourself you
5:17
know I wanted to make it from Birmingham
5:18
you know cuz I know how much you do for
5:20
the the kids coming behind me you know
5:22
for them to be able to have like me in
5:23
the gym every day they can see how I'm
5:25
working how I structure my camps and
5:27
everything and they can learn from it
5:29
and I think like I said it's just more
5:30
about giving back right it keep it keeps
5:32
me also learning as well it keeps my
5:34
brain active especially out camp I try
5:36
to give back to like like I said people
5:38
brother other guys on the mat you know
5:40
to try pass down the knowledge that I've
5:43
able to gathered from like traveling the
5:45
world or from different cultures and
5:47
stuff you know to come back to B to give
5:48
it back to the to the guys in the gym
5:50
you know cuz not everyone can is able to
5:52
travel the world and train different
5:53
people um yeah definitely one of my
5:56
passions that I enjoy
5:57
doing my belief and my mentality is so
6:00
like bulletproof that I know I can do it
6:03
I think hard work is is the main one um
6:07
to be in anything in life you know you
6:09
definitely need hard work you need um
6:11
discipline um you need just constant um
6:16
just showing up and doing your craft
6:18
every day you know and also to be able
6:20
to now be here as as a world champion
6:23
and being in the position I'm man to
6:25
like provide for my family it's just
6:26
like a proud feeling you know that I'm
6:29
on the right path I'm doing the right
6:30
thing like keep doing what you're doing
6:32
and like the sky is the limit you know
6:34
so I think the overall feeling I'll say
6:36
is just like I'm defin proud is of what
6:38
I've achieved but I know there's so much
6:40
more that I can achieve and I can't let
6:43
this be my limit right this is I don't
6:46
think this is the end of the story this
6:48
like if if the right mentality it could
6:49
be the start of the story head sh
