Mid North Coast MMA contenders set sights on world championships

TWO of the top combat sports champions in Australia call Port Macquarie home, and have their sights set on world championship glory.

Full-time disability support worker Matt Bruce, 33, trains mixed martial arts (MMA) four to six hours per day, six days a week.

In October he will travel to Brisbane to compete in the kickboxing category of the ISKA Amateur World Championships.

Bruce is currently the ISKA #1 Australian Light Heavyweight Muay Thai Champion and the ISKA #1 Australian Middleweight Kickboxing Champion; his goal is to be the best in the world.

“I originally started training to lose weight and get fit,” he told NOTA.

“But my coach could see how much I loved it and encouraged me to fight.

“When I’m competing it’s like an escape from reality where I feel like a completely different human being.

“It also gives me the opportunity to travel the world and represent my country.”

Joining Matt in Brisbane will be Year 11 student Arshak Martirosian, who combines eight hours of training each week alongside his studies at St Joseph’s Regional College.

Turning 18 this week, Arshak is already showing remarkable ability, coming second in the Australian Championships and hoping to take gold in the Muay Thai section in Brisbane.

“School is my focus now, but once that finishes I want to take this as far as possible,” he said.

“I’m still young and I hope to branch out into a lot of other sports too.”

Arshak said the first time he tried Muay Thai he “got beaten up”, before falling in love with the sport.

“When I get stressed, fighting calms me down and gives me clarity,” he said.

More than 1500 men and women from 40 countries will attend the event at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane next month and participate in a variety of mat and cage fighting across multiple disciplines.

By Rachael THORPE