Date posted: 1st, July, 2023
Five Cumbrian fighters to represent England at MMA championship
Workington
Five Cumbrian fighters are getting ready to represent England at an upcoming MMA competition.
Workington’s Tapout Knockout MMA and Ju-jitsu club is sending the group to compete at the English Mixed Martial Arts Association’s four nations championship – giving them the chance to be crowned British champions in their respective age and weight categories.
Group members include Kasen Christoforou, 16, of St Joseph’s school in Workington, Todd Herron, 17, who is a property maintenance apprentice, Tom Johnston, 16, of Keswick Sixth Form, Oakley Hocking, 15, of Whitehaven School and Jayden Laidlow, 15, of Workington Academy.
The event will take place at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre in Wales over the weekend of July 15, 16 and 17 and fighters from across the UK and Ireland will be attending.
Both adults and children aged 12 plus will compete in the championship and fighters compete in two year age bands.
Kyle Barlow, owner of Westlakes Demolition has sponsored all five of the youngsters – removing the financial pressures behind them attending the championship.
Frank Johnston, father of kickboxing world champion Tom said: “He’s basically covered hundreds of pounds of costs and took the financial burden away from everyone and he’s also going down to support them.
“Everyone on the team has a strong chance of getting a medal, they’re all of a great standard. I’m pretty sure Tom will win his category without a doubt.
Five Cumbrian fighters are getting ready to represent England at an upcoming MMA competition.
Workington’s Tapout Knockout MMA and Ju-jitsu club is sending the group to compete at the English Mixed Martial Arts Association’s four nations championship – giving them the chance to be crowned British champions in their respective age and weight categories.
Group members include Kasen Christoforou, 16, of St Joseph’s school in Workington, Todd Herron, 17, who is a property maintenance apprentice, Tom Johnston, 16, of Keswick Sixth Form, Oakley Hocking, 15, of Whitehaven School and Jayden Laidlow, 15, of Workington Academy.
The event will take place at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre in Wales over the weekend of July 15, 16 and 17 and fighters from across the UK and Ireland will be attending.
Both adults and children aged 12 plus will compete in the championship and fighters compete in two year age bands.
Kyle Barlow, owner of Westlakes Demolition has sponsored all five of the youngsters – removing the financial pressures behind them attending the championship.
Frank Johnston, father of kickboxing world champion Tom said: “He’s basically covered hundreds of pounds of costs and took the financial burden away from everyone and he’s also going down to support them.
“Everyone on the team has a strong chance of getting a medal, they’re all of a great standard. I’m pretty sure Tom will win his category without a doubt.
Head coach of Tapout Knockout Trevor Cunningham has also been pushing the group extra hard in training ahead of the competition.
Four out of five of the youngsters competing are national champions and Frank added that there were several other national champions in the club who are being pushed towards MMA.
He added: “There’s a lot of younger ones coming through and there’s quite a bit of talent under the 12 year old bracket, but they can only qualify at 12.
“You would say that from the catchment area its results are absolutely disproportional. Tapout Knockout have four people going and one of the biggest clubs in the country are only sending one.
“There is a squad that is sending over a higher number of entries, but when you look at the size of a major city versus Workington, it’s a disproportionate amount of results in the area, so you’ve got to give credit to the coaches.
“The adults and students all push each other on as well, the phrase iron sharpens iron you hear a lot so they are all pushing each other to develop.
“And obviously I’m proud of Tom, not just when he wins but in everything he does. It’s his discipline in his eating and training and he’s relentless in what he does.
“It’s his absolute intention to do MMA all the way through and use that as a way to make a living, he’s really focused. But all the kids are keeping up their studies and performing at a high level in martial arts.
“You don’t get on the England team for no reason and they’re all going to have a really good opportunity to gain medals and come back with a four nations title.
“Not many places in the country can equal the success Tapout Knockout are having in the MMA scene, they are without a doubt up there with the top clubs in the country.”
Some of the biggest icons in the MMA scene will be hosting and officiating the event including Dan Hardy, Marc Goddard, Jack Shore, Molly McCann, Veronica Hardy, and Brett Johns.
Meet and greet sessions and interview panels with these stalwarts of the sport will also be taking place and Dan Hardy will be scouting for the Professional Fighters League.
Head Coach Trevor added that he was proud to be creating a group of students that are representing England and that he strongly believes every one of them has a chance at becoming a champion at the upcoming competition.
Workington’s Tapout Knockout MMA and Ju-jitsu club is sending the group to compete at the English Mixed Martial Arts Association’s four nations championship – giving them the chance to be crowned British champions in their respective age and weight categories.
Group members include Kasen Christoforou, 16, of St Joseph’s school in Workington, Todd Herron, 17, who is a property maintenance apprentice, Tom Johnston, 16, of Keswick Sixth Form, Oakley Hocking, 15, of Whitehaven School and Jayden Laidlow, 15, of Workington Academy.
The event will take place at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre in Wales over the weekend of July 15, 16 and 17 and fighters from across the UK and Ireland will be attending.
Both adults and children aged 12 plus will compete in the championship and fighters compete in two year age bands.
Kyle Barlow, owner of Westlakes Demolition has sponsored all five of the youngsters – removing the financial pressures behind them attending the championship.
Frank Johnston, father of kickboxing world champion Tom said: “He’s basically covered hundreds of pounds of costs and took the financial burden away from everyone and he’s also going down to support them.
“Everyone on the team has a strong chance of getting a medal, they’re all of a great standard. I’m pretty sure Tom will win his category without a doubt.
Five Cumbrian fighters are getting ready to represent England at an upcoming MMA competition.
Workington’s Tapout Knockout MMA and Ju-jitsu club is sending the group to compete at the English Mixed Martial Arts Association’s four nations championship – giving them the chance to be crowned British champions in their respective age and weight categories.
Group members include Kasen Christoforou, 16, of St Joseph’s school in Workington, Todd Herron, 17, who is a property maintenance apprentice, Tom Johnston, 16, of Keswick Sixth Form, Oakley Hocking, 15, of Whitehaven School and Jayden Laidlow, 15, of Workington Academy.
The event will take place at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre in Wales over the weekend of July 15, 16 and 17 and fighters from across the UK and Ireland will be attending.
Both adults and children aged 12 plus will compete in the championship and fighters compete in two year age bands.
Kyle Barlow, owner of Westlakes Demolition has sponsored all five of the youngsters – removing the financial pressures behind them attending the championship.
Frank Johnston, father of kickboxing world champion Tom said: “He’s basically covered hundreds of pounds of costs and took the financial burden away from everyone and he’s also going down to support them.
“Everyone on the team has a strong chance of getting a medal, they’re all of a great standard. I’m pretty sure Tom will win his category without a doubt.
Head coach of Tapout Knockout Trevor Cunningham has also been pushing the group extra hard in training ahead of the competition.
Four out of five of the youngsters competing are national champions and Frank added that there were several other national champions in the club who are being pushed towards MMA.
He added: “There’s a lot of younger ones coming through and there’s quite a bit of talent under the 12 year old bracket, but they can only qualify at 12.
“You would say that from the catchment area its results are absolutely disproportional. Tapout Knockout have four people going and one of the biggest clubs in the country are only sending one.
“There is a squad that is sending over a higher number of entries, but when you look at the size of a major city versus Workington, it’s a disproportionate amount of results in the area, so you’ve got to give credit to the coaches.
“The adults and students all push each other on as well, the phrase iron sharpens iron you hear a lot so they are all pushing each other to develop.
“And obviously I’m proud of Tom, not just when he wins but in everything he does. It’s his discipline in his eating and training and he’s relentless in what he does.
“It’s his absolute intention to do MMA all the way through and use that as a way to make a living, he’s really focused. But all the kids are keeping up their studies and performing at a high level in martial arts.
“You don’t get on the England team for no reason and they’re all going to have a really good opportunity to gain medals and come back with a four nations title.
“Not many places in the country can equal the success Tapout Knockout are having in the MMA scene, they are without a doubt up there with the top clubs in the country.”
Some of the biggest icons in the MMA scene will be hosting and officiating the event including Dan Hardy, Marc Goddard, Jack Shore, Molly McCann, Veronica Hardy, and Brett Johns.
Meet and greet sessions and interview panels with these stalwarts of the sport will also be taking place and Dan Hardy will be scouting for the Professional Fighters League.
Head Coach Trevor added that he was proud to be creating a group of students that are representing England and that he strongly believes every one of them has a chance at becoming a champion at the upcoming competition.
