A rare insight into one of the North East’s leading MMA talents

Posted on April 18, 2011 by The Gunner

MMA has never been so popular and it is now the fastest growing sport in the world, Paul Colesby has been involved in the sport now for over 17 years…here we give you a rare insight into ‘The Gunners’ background.

Paul Colesby has now practiced mixed martial arts since the age of 16 years old from an early age it was obvious that Paul had a talent for martial arts which was recognised over many years by many top trainers in mixed martial arts around the world.

Having trained in Boxing, Kick Boxing, Thai Boxing, Wrestling and BBJ, he has gained an immense knowledge base to draw from as an all around mixed martial artist which is clearly the ultimate goal for anyone serious in developing their overall skills in the sport of MMA.

Paul considers himself to be very lucky to have trained and learned from the best, from first visiting Los Angeles at the age of 20 to train with Royce Gracie and the Machado brothers, and some time with Mark Denny of the dog brothers. Later on training with the full Miletich team at their gym in Iowa in the lead up to UFC 40 where he was Ian Freeman’s corner man for his fight against Andre Arlovski.

Training with the Miletich camp at that time was a fantastic experience, they had Matt Hughes
there and at that time he was the UFC welterweight champion and being able to roll with him in
his prime was an honour. The camp also at that time had UFC fighters Tim Silvia, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, Robbie Lawlor and obviously Ian Freeman & Pat Miletich.

Spending a month training with these guys and seeing behind the scenes at UFC 40 is one of the highlights of Paul’s career to date.

Having also travelled to Brazil to train with Gracie Barra under the tutor ledge of Roger Gracie and Mauricio Gomez and later a trip to Thailand training specifically Thai Boxing, his overall MMA game was becoming more and more complete.

A shorter trip to Edinburgh to train with Rick Young has also been a big part of Paul’s training and regime and development over the years as a dedicated student of MMA. Also training with Steve Makin in Newcastle in techniques of military and combat training which have been a huge part of his overall development and skills.

Paul also auditioned for Pride in UCLA in Los Angeles and came across a lot of top MMA legends at this event such as Baz Rutten, Dan Henderson and Takada to name a few, an experience which is firmly fixed in Paul’s memory.

So having learned a bit about the instructor at The Gunners Den and with all of this in mind, it leaves no question that there are not many other places in the North East to train and gain this type of experience from someone who has actually been there and done it.

Paul aims to pass on his vast knowledge from his world wide trips training with the top MMA practitioners to you and help you along the way in your own personal mixed martial arts journey.

Paul Colesby’s The Gunners Den – gives you the opportunity to learn, experience and advance in your MMA like no where else in Newcastle. Or if you just want to train using these techniques not to fight but to suit your own personal goals of getting fit in a fun, friendly and exciting way…then this is the place for you!