Back in June we told you about an off-beat challenge that Jones Harris IT Manager Matthew Arnold had pledged to undertake. It was a white collar mixed martial arts event where he showed why training pays off!

When we wrote about it at the beginning of the summer Matthew had embarked on an intense training programme culminating in a cage fight at The DeVere Hotel on 12 August.

With seven years of martial arts experience under his belt you’d think it would be familiar territory. Apparently the skills and moves of the two sports are quite different, so stepping into the ring was a nerve racking experience.

Why Training Pays Off…

Matthew says “I’d trained with my opponent throughout the previous weeks. It was very weird to get into the cage on the night when we’d been at the gym together. We stared straight into each other’s souls, knowing what we were about to do.

“It was the first time I’d ever done something like this and was very nervous before we began. After the three two minute rounds it was over and I’d won. Which just shows that training pays off.

“I was very fatigued at the end of it, but only sustained a soft tissue injury in my foot.”

He was prepared to go through all this torment to support his chosen charity ‘Promise Dreams’. It’s a national charity with the sole aim of helping to turn the dreams of terminally and seriously ill children into a reality.

With ticket sales and sponsorship, Matthew raised £240 for Promise Dreams.

Matthew added “I’ve never done anything like this before and it was nervy on fight night. But I just might do it again one day.”

You can still donate to Matthew’s fundraising cause here

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