00:00 European promotion Octagon MMA has launched a new reality show in the UK and Ireland with
00:08 the first episode now available on the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel.
00:12 The unique aspect of the reality TV show is that athletes will be competing in challenges
00:18 set beyond the sports world they are used to.
00:21 Each challenge is designed to take the fighters outside their comfort zones so fans can see
00:26 the true personalities and characters behind the steely competitors.
00:32 We knew Octagon were doing a reality show.
00:34 I have a couple of fighters on there like contestants, obviously lower level coming
00:39 through.
00:40 If anyone's been watching it, which a lot of people are, it's an incredible show.
00:44 Really well put together and all the guys are shining so I'm really glad that all parties
00:48 took the opportunity and got involved with that.
00:52 What's in it for the fighters?
00:53 Well, the final two remaining will make their Octagon MMA debuts at Octagon 48 at the AO
01:00 Arena in Manchester and fight it out for a five-figure contract.
01:05 Martial arts itself saved my life.
01:06 It gave me direction, gave me discipline, gave me focus and that's what a lot of young
01:11 kids need today.
01:12 They don't have nothing that they want to focus on.
01:14 Without martial arts, A-Con doesn't really exist.
01:17 Do you know what I mean?
01:18 I definitely would push my kids into it.
01:20 I push any one of the kids into it and even if they don't stick to it and fight, I wouldn't
01:25 steer them into fighting but I'd steer them into getting fit and training some jiu-jitsu,
01:30 training some kickboxing and seeing how their self-esteem improves and how better they do
01:35 in their life.
01:36 MMA is a sport that has grown massively over the last decade with more and more gyms being
01:41 built to support this unique type of fighting.
01:45 How important is the local side of things and are the grassroots of the sport continuing
01:50 to grow?
01:51 Leaps and bounds.
01:52 When I first started, I was getting told I had to go to America to improve.
01:57 Like I said, now we've got the rest of the world coming to Birmingham to train.
02:01 We've got a lot of UFC fighters on the mat, Benetton fighters and all world-class fighters
02:04 on the mat coming from all around the world to Birmingham to train.
02:09 That speaks for itself on what we're achieving, what we're doing.
02:13 We've got a solid team behind us that's pushing us every day and I'm excited for the guys.
02:18 So Akon, first and foremost, is an immense fighter.
02:22 He is on another level.
02:24 He really is.
02:25 So that's the first and foremost.
02:26 And then everything else he has is added extras on top.
02:29 When I first met him, I could see that he had the star potential, I could see he had
02:33 the skills, I could see he had everything.
02:35 You know what I mean?
02:36 You just need to guide him in the right direction for his career and we're on the exact trajectory
02:40 that we want it to be on.
02:41 Right now, everybody in the world can see that he is literally shining like a star that
02:45 he is.
02:46 So it's a very good moment to see it.
02:49 As fighters such as Akon are preparing for their battles with Octagon MMA, it was great
02:55 to see the impact locally that these set-ups are having to ensure they put the sport in
03:00 a positive spotlight.
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