Cage-fighting growing in popularity in Limavady

While some Roe Valley men are opting for the somewhat more extreme ‘cage-fighting’ end of the ‘mixed-martial-arts’ craze, others are more interested in the fitness and self-defence techniques now being taught in Limavady.

A club known as ‘evolve’ is flourishing on the outskirts of the Roe Valley town, and have recruited a dozens of new members since its doors first opened. Jason McCabe, who runs the club, told the Sentinel about why more and more young people and children are joining up.

A combination of more traditional combat sports are taught; including boxing, ju jitsu, wrestling, kick-boxing and others; with these differing disciplines and self-defence techniques being combined – hence the moniker of mixed-martial-arts, or MMA as it has become known.

Eventually members can choose to compete in a ‘cage-fighting’ competition, a controversial sport which has spread from the USA and now rivals traditional boxing in terms of popularity.

Despite accusations of violence from some quarters, the sport has grown exponentially, and Limavady is now among many towns with a thriving club. The accusation of violence is rejected outright by both the people running the ‘evolve’ MMA club and the members – they say it is about discipline, self defence and sport.

Jason McCabe, in overall charge at Evolve in Limavady, said that his is a club which can teach people how to defend themselves, and that no-one is under any pressure to compete in any cage-fights: “Between the kids and the adults, we have about fifty members. The way it works is we have various different levels for people to train and compete at, from complete beginners right through to pro-MMA.

“When people start we don’t get them to go straight into the cage. Obviously, you need to learn the basics before taking on any sort of competition. Also, there are different levels you can compete at.

“Another thing people should know is that we have a great, friendly atmosphere down here at the club and nobody is put under any kind of pressure. People can come down and just use the training for fitness.

“They can come down and just learn the skills. Sometime people are being bullied and they want to learn how to defend themselves – they will be more than welcome here.

He added: “Not everyone wants to compete, it’s not a problem.”

Among the most prominent fighters coming out of the ‘Evolve’ stable in Limavady who do compete in cage-fighting events are young men with an already rich sporting background.

Gerard McKee from Limavady moved into cage-fighting after training as a boxer and winning a host of accolades. He trained at St. Canice’s Boxing Club and went on to claim titles at amateur level.

A further example is Hugh McCloskey, another young man from Limavady, and a two-time world power-lifting champion. He is due to compete in an event in Dublin, his first fully-fledged cage-fight, and admits some level of apprehension before stepping into the arena.

He said: “It is my first full cage-fight. Before that I did compete in some submission wrestling events and MMA League – it would be similar to a cage fight but with different rules.

“It is absolutely not violent. It is sport. We are very keen to stress that. I’m a bit apprehensive, I suppose I would have to admit, but at the same time I am confident that I have put in enough hours to see me through.

“The training is a lot more physical than anything I have done before. I lost close to four stone. I was training for the power-lifting and I had done some judo training, but I was actually sick after some of the fitness work – especially when I was a bit heavier.

“I am going to fight now at 93kg, which is around light-heavyweight in boxing terms. I am a bit apprehensive but you have to be confident that the work I’ve put in will be enough.”

Hugh will compete against a fighter originally from Poland in a cage-fight set to take place in Dublin this Saturday.