Teenage entrepreneur and student Kaeysea Ferman swapped his revision books for boxing gloves, stepping into the cage for a brutal charity MMA bout. The 18-year-old from Bradford, who balances A-levels with running his own exterior cleaning business, refused to let anything stand in his way of experiencing live combat. Driven by a lifelong admiration for cage fighters, Kaeysea signed up for the gruelling eight-week Ultra MMA challenge to push his limits and raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.
Discovering Ultra MMA
“On Instagram I 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,” explained Kaeysea. “There’s no charge, but you must sell ten tickets for the show and fundraise for a charity of your choice. Mine was the British Heart Foundation.”
Pure Courage in the Cage
“Win or lose, I wanted to be on that show. Prove to an audience including family and friends, but mainly myself, that I could do this. Taste just for a day how it might feel to be an MMA star. I enjoyed every step of the process, including the gruelling training as the coaches pushed us relentlessly to achieve. The atmosphere at the show was exciting and the bouts exhilarating and enthralling.”
Kaeysea faced a tough opponent: “I had a tough fight with a physically fit and well-built lad from Oldham, Joe Lewis, who’s at university in Leeds. Our bout was brutal and a bit bloody and went the full distance as we hit each other repeatedly as powerfully as we could to the body and head. We both took a proper beating, and it’s just what we wanted. I didn’t get the win, but I’m proud to have handled myself courageously in combat with a boy who’s clearly rock hard. It’s a phenomenal experience punching each other in the face and then chatting about it. Phenomenal.”
Training and Experience
“We trained at Bad Company in west Leeds. It’s an excellent gym and easy to get to from Bradford in the evening. Everyone in the group got on well and it became tight knit. We even had fun. But that didn’t stop us from giving the opponent what for as the audience expected. That said, don’t expect to see professional MMA. For example, although we could hit in the face when standing, there was no punching to the head of a grounded opponent.”
“The show was fantastic and a fitting end to challenging training. You need to make taking part your personal priority for eight weeks. That’s part of the challenge. I’d encourage anyone to get into combat sports, whether it’s for fitness or competition, as you learn transferrable skills while developing confidence.”
Future Events
The next Ultra event is in November, so volunteers have summer to get fit. Anyone wanting to chat about Ultra MMA can e-mail Kaeysea at kaeyseaferman1@gmail.com. Kaeysea, Joe, and 32 others raised £11,700 for their charities. Ultra MMA returns to the Village Hotel Leeds North on November 28, with training beginning in September. Competitors must be aged 18 or older on the date training starts.
