SATURDAY June 20th will see one of the biggest Mixed Martial Arts events Belfast has seen when Girdwood Community Hub plays host.
The event will see over 180 youth MMA fighters participate in the Belfast Open for U18s before 'The Battle of Belfast' that same evening when a whole host of talented fighters dust off their gloves to claim MMA glory.
Hosted by Full Circle Martial Arts Club, it will act as a fundraising event for the fighting academy which will help fund equipment and fight fees, along with the club's summer trip to Berlin.
Paddy Rice from Full Circle Martial Arts believes the event is important in raising awareness and creating some excitement for young people involved in combat sports.
"The event itself is mainly to help raise funds for our club in North Belfast. It's an expensive sport for the clubs involved to help the kids pay for safety gear, their fight fees and competitions," he said.
"And of course help fund the young stars who might be jetting off across the globe to compete in World Championships and without the fundraising a lot of them would not be able to do that."
Paddy said the funds raised from Saturday's blockbuster event can also pay homage and gratitude to John McTasney who helped keep the club functioning over a number of tough financial years.
"It also works well that we can give back to John, he's very passionate about this and it's about keeping the club functioning and making it self-sustaining as much as we can.
"We are asking for about £25 if you plan on staying all day, or it is just £5 in for the Belfast Open for the youngsters. But we have had some great sponsors like Belfast City Council who are supporting us on Saturday and they've supported it for a number of years and we want to give back and put on a show.
"The kids at our club compete across Ireland. They go to Derry and Limavady in particularly quite regularly. We ask for £3 a session and a lot of kids don't have that money and John never once forced anyone or made a member feel unwelcome if they didn't bring their fees, and often would cover it, but it's becoming far too expensive to cover the shortfall and we are hoping for a big turnout and fundraising effort on Saturday to sustain us for another 12 months.
Last year's event was a resounding success
"John has had his hand in his pocket for this sport for over 30 years in North Belfast and this will be our way of giving a thank you to him for all the hard work he offered and the financial burden he has taken on over the years to keep the club afloat.
"The financial cost of MMA is something that a lot of clubs are burdened with, despite the often costly expenses, what has proved valuable is the friendships and partnerships you can make along the way in the combat sport game.
"We have loads of kids and adults from across Ireland, between Derry, Waterford and Donegal. We have folks coming from all corners of the country to compete. There are not too many competitions that run like this, we have our day show – which is predominantly for the kids fights – then in the evening we have a mainly adult fighting show."
Paddy said 180 young people are expected in total.
"Then after 5pm it'll turn into the Battle of Belfast with teenagers starting off the card in exhibition fights and we have some great fights across all weight categories and both male and female fights too that will make it a top show.
"We have lots of fights between all weight classes and categories
"Mel's daughter Mia is competing. Mel was one of the first people to open an all women's MMA gym in Ireland and the UK. We've helped her with shows over the years and are repaying the favour as this time she is offering us a lot of their fighters for Saturday which will make it a great event."
Paddy believes that events like Saturday can increase awareness for combat sports.
"Full Circle travel the country from Dublin to Derry, the ring shows and match shows we have had 16 combined, and over that many weeks we have made multiple friends in different federations," he said.
"It really is a fast growing sport, and I can't believe it still does not have the recognition deserved.
"Some of the money from Saturday will go to helping the kids who are representing Ireland in Madrid, or even help those kids who are maybe a bit short for the club's trip to Berlin in the summer. Either way it's all to help young fighters and members of the North Belfast community get a chance to see the world."
The event begins on Saturday afternoon at Girdwood Community Hub in North Belfast, and prior to the Battle of Belfast the youth competition Belfast Open will see 180 competitors under the age of 18 battling it out for glory.
Entry fees begin at £5 per person for the Belfast Open, and for those who plan on staying for the adult events, an additional £20 fee will be required.
For more information, check out Full Circle Martial Arts on their social media channels.
