UK MMA Expo - Roll on UK MMA Expo 2014

My review of the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

This past weekend I went along to the UK MMA Expo in Manchester's Event City. I arrived with no expectations of what the expo would be like and was only concerned with wanting to have a good weekend watching some MMA, do a bit of training, meeting fans and fighters who we have previously interviewed and talking about the sport I love more than any in this world MMA. I certainly didn't expect it to be anything like the UFC Fan Expo held in Vegas two weeks before.

Last year I bought a ticket to go to the MMA Show Live expo in Birmingham and was left disappointed when the expo was cancelled on just five days notice. I know I was not the only person who was let down last year and unfortunately the actions of some people which led to the cancellation of this expo has led to repercussions which have been dealt with by the organisers of the UK MMA Expo. A lot of people thought at first that the UK MMA Expo was organised by the same people which was not the case. Also, due to the cancellation of the MMA Show Live a lot of people doubted that this Expo would ever take place also.

As I arrived on the Saturday morning I was greeted by both Paul and Darren who organised the whole event. I had spent a lot of time interviewing fighters before the Expo for the site and have had many conversations with both men so it was nice to meet them both in person.

When the UK MMA Expo opened I first had a look around all the stands which were selling products or services at the expo and was very impressed at the professionalism of them all and how good all the stands looked. My two year old son was particularly impressed with the Banned Fightwear stand which had a Dodge Viper (or as my son kept shouting "Racing Car") in front of it. The guys who were on the stands were all happy to talk to me and explain what the product they were selling was and why it was different from any other products, however they did not cross the line from selling to annoying me. They were happy to discuss and then let me continue looking around the expo.

The companies which came out to support the expo was very impressive. Some of these companies were the same companies I imagine which lost money last year when the MMA Show Live was cancelled 5 days before the event. Although there was a lot of companies supporting the expo this year a lot of floor space was still available. I now believe that the Expo in 2014 (if it happens) will have a lot more stands due to people realising that it is legit and will actually happen.

The fact some of the top UK fighters were walking around mingling with the fans was brilliant. You could walk up to them have a chat with them, get photo's with them and they would happily sign anything which you wanted them to. This is something which I know as a fan means a lot, we normally pay our money and go watch them fight without getting the chance to meet these guys but at the Expo you could.

The Expo consisted of many different aspects, to me the main areas were the stands where people were selling their products, you had the live events which included a full MMA event on the Saturday afternoon and the British grappling championship on the Sunday. Then you had the training seminars, photo signing sessions and knowledge base theatre which gave you a chance to meet your favourite fighters.

Training Seminars

One of the major selling points of the UK MMA Expo was the ability to be able to book to train with some of the top fighters in UK MMA including Michael Bisping, Ross Pearson, Rob Sinclair as well as a lot of others over the weekend.

For a small additional charge you would get the chance to be able to take part in the training sessions led by the fighters at set times throughout the weekend. I thought this was a brilliant idea and was a major selling point to me. It's not everyday you can train with fighters like Michael Bisping. I also felt it also gave guys who may have not trained in martial arts before the ability to not only give it a go but to try it in an atmosphere that was potentially more comfortable to them than walking in to a gym for the first time.

I actually took part in the Michael Bisping but will discuss the actual training seminar in an article later this week on the site. So look out for the "The day I trained with Michael Bisping" article in the coming days.

Knowledge Base Theatre

The Q&A sessions which were held at the Knowledge Base Theatre were fantastic, it was truly a great place to go to be able to hear some of the best UK fighters open up about any questions they were asked.

For me personally I was very proud to be given the opportunity to host the women in combat sport seminar on the Sunday afternoon and it was great to hear from the elite women athletes just what they thought about how far the sport has come. I had a great time hosting and was very impressed with how knowledgeable the crowd were who came to the seminar and asked their own questions were. All in all it made for a brilliant seminar. Rosi Sexton, Helen Currie and JoJo Calderwood let us know what opinions they had on a variety of subjects from Transgender fighters to sexism in MMA and even discussed if they thought BJJ should be an Olympic sport.

Other seminars I went to included the pioneers of UK MMA and Its a TUF Life which between them included the who's who of the top UK MMA throughout the years. Guys like Ian Freeman, Ross Pearson and Michael Bisping to name a couple.

The Photo Signing Sessions

This was another brilliant aspect of the Expo which worked really well. At set times throughout the weekend you had the chance to meet your favourite fighter, have a picture with them (for a small fee of £10) it was then printed off and framed. But the best bit was the fighters would then sign your photo.

I think for £10 this was a great experience and the photo quality was brilliant.

Conclusion

I think the UK MMA Expo was a great weekend and if and I hope they do have the Expo again next year I think the organisers will have so much experience from this weekend. They can look back at the things that went really well as well as the bits which didn't. By reflecting on this year as well as now having evidence that they can pull it off next year will be a brilliant Expo.

This year they had so many doubters keep saying that they couldn't pull it off.... well guess what people they did. They did the UK MMA scene proud and I am sure a lot of companies that did not take part this year due to the previous Expo being cancelled on such short notice will already be contacting them to say they want in next year. They have been left in a situation where they have had to prove everyone wrong through no fault of their own to pull off the expo this year but they certainly did it.

The first day seemed to be a little hectic with some things not starting when they were scheduled to start but what do you expect when this is the first time that anything like this had been done. Even by the Sunday the organisation was so much better and things ran a lot more smoothly.

I think lessons will be learnt about trying to put so much on for example the training with fighters happening at the same time as a Q&A seminar and maybe next time we may see less on at the same times. This is not a bad thing as it makes more things accessible to everyone and easier to control.

Overall, I really enjoyed my weekend at the UK MMA Expo and if this is what they managed to pull off on the first year all I can say is roll on UK MMA Expo 2014.

Rosi Sexton discusses being a part of the Women in Combat Sports Seminar at the UK MMA Expo

Rosi Sexton chats to Kingdom MMA about being a part of the women in combat sports seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

We have already interviewed Rob Sinclair, Jo Jo Calderwood, Che Mills, Jimi Manuwa and Ross Pearson and now in the latest interview of the series I caught up with UFC female bantamweight fighter Rosi Sexton to discuss her seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Rosi makes up part of a panel in a seminar called "Women In Combat Sports" which takes place on the 21st July at 2pm. That seminar is free to go and watch and is a one hour Q&A seminar which includes Helen Currie the 1st UK Female BJJ Black belt, Jo Jo Calderwood who is undefeated and fights for Invicta FC and finally Rosi Sexton the first UK women to fight for the UFC. Rosi is also a former Cage Warriors Champion. I recently asked her how she felt to be part of such a great panel for the seminar.

"I think in the UK we have a lot of talent when it comes to women in combat sports, and this is a great opportunity to celebrate that. I've got a lot of respect for all the other women on the panel - they've each achieved a huge amount within their sport, and have a lot of technical knowledge and experience. I'm looking forward to a really interesting exchange of ideas."

I know a lot of your UK fans are excited at the prospect of being able to see you at the seminar and potentially meet you too, are you excited about meeting your fans at the expo?

"I've had a lot of encouragement and appreciation from the MMA community and the fans here in the UK, throughout my career, but especially before and after my recent UFC fight. I'm always excited to meet those who have supported me!"

Finally we spoke about what holding the seminar at the UK MMA Expo means to Rosi and how in her opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK as well as female fighters.

"For a long time, there were few women involved in combat sports, and it was easy to feel isolated in a male dominated environment. Now more and more women are starting to develop an interest, and want to take part - which is fantastic. This is a great opportunity both for women who are new to the sport who would like to find out more and those who've been training a while who might have their own experiences to share, or questions about taking it to the next level." 

So that's what Rosi Sexton thinks about being in her seminar as well as her opinion on the UK MMA Expo. Remember Rosi is part of the Women in Combat Sports Q&A Seminar on Sunday 21st July at 2pm.

Ross Pearson discusses the UK MMA Expo and his seminar on Sunday

Ross Pearson talks to Kingdom MMA about his seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

We have already interviewed Rob Sinclair, Jo Jo Calderwood, Che Mills and Jimi Manuwa and now in the latest interview of the series I caught up with UFC lightweight fighter Ross Pearson to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Ross will be hosting a training seminar which takes place on the 21st July at 14:15pm. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Ross and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"My seminar is mainly based on the transitions in MMA striking to wrestling -wrestling to ju-jitsu - ju-jitsu to striking, a lot of drills so participants to take drills away with them & work on them in there own gym."

"I try touch base on all areas of MMA  because not one area in MMA is better than the other, you need to work on all areas to be the best "

I know a lot of the UK fans are very excited at the prospect of being able to train with Ross Pearson so I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"All levels are welcome I try to keep drills as simple as possible so people feel like they have taken something from the seminar & not thinking like they have forgetting the little details what makes the move perfect."

I asked Ross how he felt to be asked to hold a seminar at the UK MMA Expo for his fans.

"It's awesome! I'm very excited to show the UK fans just some of the things I've learnt on my travels and training with the best fighters & coaches in the world."

Finally we spoke about how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"Expos are huge for the growth of MMA in the UK because the fans get to see what really goes on in a fighters life, the sport,the business, they also get to meet there favourite fighters and support them in all there future fights, spreading the word about MMA/fighters causing more talk more interest in watching the sport & there favourite fighters." 

So there you have it, that's Ross Pearson giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Ross Pearson Training Seminar
Date - 21st July 14:15PM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £25
Seminar + Sunday Expo Entry £30
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £35

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Jimi Manuwa talks about his seminar and launching WarriorNRG at the UK MMA Expo

Jimi Manuwa talks to Kingdom MMA about his seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

The first in the series of interviews was with Rob Sinclair, the former BAMMA Lightweight world champion who has recently signed for Bellator. Then we interviewed Jo Jo Calderwood, who won last night at Invicta 6 about being a part of the "women in combat sports" Q&A session. Last time out we spoke to Che Mills the Cage Warriors fighter. Now in the latest of the series of interviews I caught up with Jimi Manuwa to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Jimi will be hosting a training seminar which takes place on the 21st July at 13:15pm. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Jimi and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"I'll be doing a striking seminar with my coach Dino Miringou from LionsprideMMA. People will be able to join in or watch. I will be doing technical pad drills and will talk people through it."

 I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"Anyone will be able to join in. You just need a pair of boxing gloves and maybe some shin pads when we do some technical sparring"

I asked Jimi how he felt to be asked to hold a seminar at the UK MMA Expo for his fans.

"It was great to be asked to teach a seminar at the UK MMA Expo. I always love meeting my fans and hope to share some tips in striking and what works for me. I love meeting my fans."

Finally we spoke about how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"The expo is nothing but a good thing for MMA in the UK. It brings fans, fighters and all people involved in the sport together. I'm really looking forward to it" 

Jimi will not only be at the UK MMA Expo to do his seminar and meet his fans he will also be part of launching a new product.

"I'll be at the WarriorNRG stand before and after my seminar launching my new product which is the new natural pre and post workout blend for winners. WarriorNRG is a new all natural protein and carb supplement. There is nothing like it on the market and is the best I've ever taken."

So there you have it, that's Jimi Manuwa giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Jimi Manuwa Training Seminar
Date - 21st July 13:15PM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £20
Seminar + Sunday Expo Entry £25
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £30

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Che Mills talks about the UK MMA Expo and his seminar

Che Mills talks to Kingdom MMA about his seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

The first in the series of interviews was with Rob Sinclair, the former BAMMA Lightweight world champion who has recently signed for Bellator. Then we interviewed Jo Jo Calderwood, who won last night at Invicta 6 about being a part of the "women in combat sports" Q&A session and now we have Che Mills the Cage Warriors fighter. I caught up with Che last week to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Che will be hosting a training seminar which takes place on the 20th July at 12:15pm. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Che and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"First and foremost I want the seminar to be a lot of fun. I hope people come away at the end learning something from my seminar and don't worry I'm certainly not going to be a drill Sergeant and scream at anyone. However I am keeping the full details of the seminar close to my chest so it will be a surprise on the day"

 I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"Everyone is invited and as they say the more the merrier."

I also asked Che what it felt to be one of the first fighters to be asked to be a part of the expo including having the logo on his shorts for his previous fights.

"Humbled, no matter what I have achieved in my career being asked to be one of the first fighters if not the first to be a part of the UK MMA Expo was a great feeling. I am happy to promote a brilliant event and hope that people who are not necessarily MMA fans come along and enjoy it too then go away becoming MMA fans themselves"

Finally we spoke about how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"Its brilliant and I hope it becomes a regular event maybe once or twice a year. Its great for the public and gives them all the chance to meet the fighters, buy things from lots of exhibitors and take part in seminars without being intimidated by stepping in to a gym for the first time." 

So there you have it, that's Che Mills giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Che Mills Training Seminar
Date - 20th July 12:15PM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £20
Seminar + Saturday Expo Entry £25
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £30

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Jo Jo Calderwood discusses being a part of the Women in Combat Sports Seminar at the UK MMA Expo

Jo Jo Calderwood chats to Kingdom MMA about being a part of the women in combat sports seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now only a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen the weekend of July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

Kingdom will be bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

Next up in our series of interviews is Jo Jo Calderwood. Jo Jo has fought for some of the top MMA promotions including Cage Warriors and Invicta who she is signed to now on a long term deal. Jo Jo follows on from Rob Sinclair in our interviews discussing the seminar in which she is a part of at the UK MMA Expo.

Jo Jo makes up part of a panel in a seminar called "Women In Combat Sports" which takes place on the 21st July at 2pm. That seminar is free to go and watch and is a one hour Q&A seminar which includes Julie Kitchen 14x World Muay Thai Champ, Helen Currie 1st UK Female BJJ Black belt, Rosi Sexton the first UK women to fight for the UFC and former Cage Warriors Champion and of course Jo Jo Calderwood. Yesterday I asked her how she felt to be part of such a great panel for the seminar.

"I was really excited to be asked, I was going down to it anyway for the British no gi competition so this is like a bonus. I feel privileged to be included in a group with people I look up to like Rosi, Julie Kitchen and Helen Currie."

I know a lot of your UK fans are excited at the prospect of being able to see you at the seminar and potentially meet you too, are you excited about meeting your fans at the expo?

"Yeah everyone back home are really supportive and I'm always very humble to have their support... The UK MMA Expo will be a great experience and my way of getting to say thanks in person to the people."

Finally we spoke about what holding the seminar at the UK MMA Expo means to Jo Jo and how in her opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK as well as female fighters.

"Hopefully the UK MMA Expo will open a lot of people's eyes to the real side of UK MMA  its not like how a lot of people perceive it. The last few years the level of professionalism in the sport has been raised thanks to stuff like the safe MMA programme. Hopefully it shows people that MMA is for everyone men, woman and kids and that it's here to stay." 

So that's what Jo Jo Calderwood thinks about being in her seminar as well as her opinion on the UK MMA Expo. Remember Jo Jo is part of the Women in Combat Sports Q&A Seminar on Sunday 21st July at 2pm and as she said she will also be taking part in the no gi competition so anyone going can see her in action on the day.

If you want to read our previous interview with Rob Sinclair about his Striking Against Submissions seminar then click here

Kingdom MMA speak to Rob Sinclair about his UK MMA Expo seminar

Rob Sinclair discusses his seminar at the UK MMA Expo to Kingdom MMA

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now only a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen the weekend of July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

Over the next few days we will be bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

The first in the series of interviews is with Rob Sinclair, the former BAMMA Lightweight world champion who has recently signed for Bellator. I caught up with Rob this week to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Rob will be hosting a training seminar called "Striking Against Submissions" which takes place on the 20th July at 11am. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Rob and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"The seminar is basically going to cover strikes to beat a BJJ practitioner, safely and effectively. Including working on your posture and using your legs and hips."

 I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"No anyone can take part it is aimed at anybody. Anybody who does MMA and feels uncomfortable at throwing strikes from guard/ half guard or side control will hopefully be able to take a lot away from this seminar."

Finally we spoke about what holding the seminar at the UK MMA Expo means to Rob and how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"It was definitely a pleasure being asked to run a seminar at the UK MMA Expo. I think it's a great thing for UK MMA as there's opportunities to meet lots of people, learn new stuff in the seminars and talks, meet new sponsors and compete in the tournaments at the expo. It's going to be a great weekend." 

So there you have it, that's Rob Sinclair giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Rob Sinclair's Striking Against Submissions Seminar
Date - 20th July 11:00AM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £20
Seminar + Saturday Expo Entry £25
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £30

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.