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To put it simply, you will not find a more honest, self assured and driven fighter than rising British bantamweight Ed Arthur. While maintaining total respect and appreciation for those around him, whether it be friend or foe, there is not an ounce of modesty to this emerging force that has broken out and grabbed destiny by the scruff of its neck with a non negotiable proposition.

Arthur’s potential as a future star and role model in mixed martial arts goes far beyond his talents in the ring. As the protege of experienced veteran Denniston ‘Mad Max’ Sutherland, Arthur became a disciple of martial arts in mind, body and spirit; he discovered his humanity and found peace with new found knowledge of how life should be lived.

“I can’t give Max enough praise,” Ed explained. “In any interview I always say about Max, because I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for Max. Before I met Max, I was a classic 18-year-old getting into trouble, trying to be cool and doing stupid sh**t that you thought meant something, but it meant nothing. He’s the sort of man that makes you realize the things you whinge about when growing up, things that you thought were worth whinging about don’t mean anything, and that’s what martial arts teaches you – a different type of life. The lessons that Max has given me are more than just a couple of MMA fights for the next ten years, it’s life changing.

“I have in my mind where I want to be, but each day I’m just concentrating on trying to get a little bit better. I tell you what, it feels great – every single time I spar I feel I’m getting better.

“I heard a Will Smith interview recently. He said “You don’t just try and build a whole house, you’ve got to build each block at a time,” and that’s how it is for martial arts – exactly the same, just one step at a time.”

Arthur isn’t the survivor of a troubled past, but crafted himself a better life as someone who was able to confront the attitude and restraints of today’s society, and in doing so became more focused on how to make the most of his own existence with a passion for encouraging those around him.

“I wouldn’t say I had tough times, I had stupid times and Max made things clear. Money and things that you think are really important mean nothing. It’s what you hold in your heart, having love for the people around you, and trying to learn and get better. That’s what it’s about, and I wake up every day happy. I work three days a week and I don’t mind that to be honest, I wake up happy. I don’t get involved in stupid s**t; I have fun, I train and try to keep positive people around me. Negative people effect your life like a disease. You won’t catch me in a gym that’s ego driven with tough guys, I don’t care if it’s day one or if you’ve been there for ten years, I’ll try and learn something from you, and hopefully you can learn something from me. When I’m 50, 60, 70-years-hold, hopefully I’ll be teaching some new Ed Arthur who’s up and coming.”

Ed Arthur and Denniston 'Mad Max' Sutherland - photo by Mark Blundell
Ed Arthur and Denniston ‘Mad Max’ Sutherland – photo by Mark Blundell

Arthur’s intensity and dominance in the ring has caused a stir on the UKMMA scene, and the Hemel Martial Arts product is considered to be one of the nation’s most exciting up and comers. A 6-0 amateur record has been succeeded by a 4-0 start to his professional career with a 100% finishing rate so far. The 25-year-old made his pro debut under the banner of Portsmouth’s Shock N’ Awe before progressing to top British promotion, BAMMA.

It was surprising news when standout European promotion Superior Challenge revealed that Arthur was set to go international and invade the Swedish event as challenger for the bantamweight title on November 29. It’s uncommon for a standout British fighter to venture abroad for less than the UFC or Bellator for example; however, Arthur is keen to see the world and build a legacy of diverse challenges, but feels many others would opt to play it safe, and he’s not afraid to say it.

“There’s a lot of fighters going around saying they’re the best, but they pick and choose, and if you look at some of their records, they’ve fought guys at home town shows; I just go into people’s back yards and beat them.

“It’s human instinct; people know when someone’s being real and when someones being fake. I think people see that in fighters. Everyone wants to win, but only a few guys really want to fight, and I think Denniston has programmed that in me from day-one, that this is a fight, it’s not all pretty and you might get hurt sometimes. Obviously, I like to get out of there quick, I’d catch a guillotine in ten seconds if I could to save me getting hurt, but I understand the responsibility that you get hurt, this is a fight. People are paying their money, a good £300 to come to Sweden and watch me fight, I’m not going to go in there tit for tat and hopefully get a points decision at the end, I’m trying to finish you every second that I can, and that’s why I think I’m making a little bit of noise, and it will get bigger and bigger.”

Superior Challenge operates as one of Europe’s more impressive MMA shows. Boasting a list of accomplished veterans that includes the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Joachim Hansen, Thales Leites, Ilir Latifi and Marcus Davis to name a few, Superior Challenge is also known for hosting some of the largest crowds seen in any European MMA promotion.

“On all the shows they’ve had, they’ve had either massive rising stars or ex UFC stars, so I’m excited to just go there and show I’m at that level. When I do fight there, I think it will be a platform to show the level that I’m at. Even though I’ve [only] had four pro fights, I’m up there with the best guys at this weight class in the country, and they’ll see that in this fight. When I come home people will say to me “Was he not very good then? Was he not a good fighter?” It’s not the fact that Martin Akhtar isn’t a good fighter – he’s a great fighter, but at the level I’ve got to with the team I have now I’ll make him look average, I know that.”

On November 29 Arthur will meet Swedish Muay Thai specialist Martin Akhtar for the Superior Challenge bantamweight title. Having studied his opponent, Arthur gives a sense of approval that Akhtar is a worthy foe, for he strives to avoid inadequate competition.

“You’ve only got to look at the type of guys I’ve fought. All of them have gone on to win, or were winning before me. For example, Nathanial Wood – he’s seven and Ed Arthur, he’s only got one loss. Mike Cutting only had one loss and apparently that was a close one, then I went in there and made it look easy against him. Jamie Pritchard lost to me then went on to win three more. I’m not fighting guys who are walk-overs, I’m fighting guys who are also supposed to be on their way up, but I make them reconsider things and that’s exactly what’s going to happen in this fight, I’m excited as you can tell.

“It was a conversation we had a few months ago. I was supposed to fight Martin Akhtar before but he got injured, I got injured, the fight never happened. I was in talks with other promotions, and my manager Wad [Alameddine] was in conversations with them, and they still wanted the fight to happen, and this time it was for the title. Last time I didn’t think it was going to be for a title so it’s even better that will be.

“Personally, it’s like I’ve been waiting around for it, so it’s not a shock. When I first went pro I was ready for bigger and better things anyway, so I feel like I’ve been counting down the days until all the big things happen, because I’ve been working my arse off in the gym non stop. Things like this don’t feel like a shock, I keep hearing people say things like “this is gonna be you’re biggest test, this is going to be a real challenge on a big show,” but to be honest, all that does is just excite me even more. When someone tells me there might be seven-thousand people there watching, that just excites me, it doesn’t make me nervous, I’ll probably fight even better, and I think this fight will be a prime example of the level that I’ve reached with the training that I’ve been doing – smart training.”

One of Arthur’s greatest pleasures is to make talented fighters look average. It’s the ultimate confirmation for an athlete who feels he is destined to compete among the best that anyone has to offer, and Arthur will not hold back in his pursuit to make each and every opponent look feeble, with all due respect.

“I’m not saying this in a cocky way, I don’t care what people think, I just like to be myself and I think people like that. There’s no lying, I like to tell it how it is and I’ll be the first one to tell you if I’m doing something wrong in training or if there’s a weakness I need to improve.

“I honestly believe that I’m going to make him look average.

“He’s a good fighter (Akhtar), I believe he comes to fight. He doesn’t just come tit for tat to get a win, you can’t fight like that against me, I won’t let you. He’s definitely limited in his skills in regards to that he’s mainly about his Thai boxing. I think he’s a good test for me, but the problem is I know what he’s going to do and he doesn’t know what I’m going to do.

“The biggest thing I’ll exploit is his over eagerness, he’s sometimes too aggressive. I’m good at picking up on mistakes, I’ll probably pick up on it straight away, but if you do it twice there wont be a third time; I’ll finish the fight. I don’t fight for rounds, I could be in there for twenty minutes with no break, three fives, five fives, or one round – I’m just trying to finish you. I’ve got too many skills for him to deal with, I think I’ll make him hesitate and then I’ll start to take over. This isn’t to say he’s a bad fighter, but I think I’ll take over in about two minutes and the finish will come at the end of the first or beginning of the second.”

As Arthur seeks to further evolve and grow as an athlete, he has ventured outside of his home at Hemel Martial Arts, and has sought the expertise of two UK greats; the first European to earn a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie – Eddie Kone, and British MMA mastermind Dean Amasinger.

“That man [Dean Amasingner] mainly is the one who really changed my game. Not just technique-wise, but also strength and conditioning, dieting, what it means to be a professional fighter, what type of fighter you have to be in and outside of the cage, and just general lifestyle around fighting. It’s been a big change over the last year or two.

“The man knows how to find talent and make it better. I think he gets a lot of praise, but he deserves even more. To get to the UFC, the top of the sport where I want to get to, you can’t just turn up at the gym, hit a few pads and spar a million rounds. It has to be above and beyond – the things that people don’t see that Dean does backstage with me, he’s gone out of his way to improve it all, and he’s given me a full diet plan for this fight.

“Dean’s given me structure. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to wing it here and there and just go with the flow, but when you want to be a professional athlete, more than just a fighter, to get to the top you have to have that structure to it, really break down all the areas, and that’s what Dean’s helped me to do.”

Ed Arthur takes on Martin Akhtar at the Axa Sports Center this weekend, Nov. 29 in the co-main event of Superior Challenge 11 – headlined by Joachim Hansen vs Diego Nunes. Look out for more on Ed Arthur coming soon at MMA Plus!

Photo by Mark Blundell