FROM coming to train at Barrow MMA with little background in combat sports, Leigh O’Donnell has rapidly found himself competing in a variety of fighting disciplines.

Heading into tonight’s sold-out show at Manhattan’s Nightclub, O’Donnell has amassed around 20 mixed martial arts bouts, two taekwondo contests and three Muay Thai kickboxing fights.

Tonight will see him competing in his seventh boxing match as well when he faces Inspire Gym’s Cas Rees – with his previous one being in April when he beat Jordan Watson in the fight of the night on a charity show in Ulverston.

But it all began just through getting into contact with one of the forerunners of MMA in Barrow, Bob Cassidy.

“I knew Bob through a friend of mine, who said pop down the gym and I did that,” said O’Donnell. “I spoke to him and he asked what my background was, and I’d not really done a lot.

“I trained a bit of taekwondo when I a young kid from about nine, but I’d not done anything else since then and it was basically starting from scratch.

“I was just going through the basics of jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, Muay Thai, and as we’ve gone through I’ve met loads of people from all over from competing.”

It did not take long for O’Donnell to immerse himself in the culture of MMA and, once tonight’s boxing contest is over, he is aiming to have two more semi-professional fights before hopefully making the step up to the professional ranks.

The growth of the sport since the turn of the century means there are plenty of opportunities for combatants both on these shores and beyond, something which has not been lost on O’Donnell.

“There are a lot of opportunities everywhere,” said O’Donnell. “Before I got into this, you wouldn’t see half the stuff you do now.

“I walk around Manchester and see places where you think ‘that’s an MMA gym’, but before that you wouldn’t think anything about it.

“The more you get involved with different gyms and the culture, the more it starts popping up all over social media. You get mixed up with it and you see different gyms.”

And having come into the sport with little experience, O’Donnell wants others to take the plunge and sample what it is all about as well.

“Don’t be scared of it, come in and see what you think about it,” said O’Donnell. “Even if you don’t want to compete, come and use it for fitness because you can get fit from doing it.

“Everyone helps each other and there are no big egos in the gym.”