Yahoo News MMA fighter with cerebral palsy says winning fight means he has 'proved people wrong'
An MMA fighter from Bedworth has won a white-collar fight after vowing to ‘prove people wrong’ about his disability. Leighton Mees, who has cerebral palsy on the right side of his body, won a charity Ultra fight in Coventry on April 13.
The 25-year-old fighter says he wants to inspire young disabled people and is defying bullies from his youth by winning the fight. The IT student described winning at the Rialto Plaza as an amazing feeling.
He wants other young disabled people to know they can follow their dreams and take up a sport. As well as taking the title, Leighton was also fundraising for the disability equality charity, Scope.
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He said: “I’ve had people look at me in certain ways because of my disability, make comments in the past, and I wanted to prove everyone wrong. With fighting, I think it’s very much about the style you fight in, and I have been able to build that style around my cerebral palsy, so it doesn’t affect me.
“I’m guessing there will be other young people out there like me, and I hope I can inspire them. People look at me so differently now, and the same people that used to make comments don’t say anything negative to me anymore. I’ve had people, even my mates, message me and tell me they have been inspired by my win.”
Leighton who trains in MMA at SBG Coventry and also had sessions with Warriors TMA Academy in Coventry, has since been spotted by an amateur promotor about future fights and hopes to carry on with his passion for his sport. Sixteen million people in the UK are disabled, that’s 1 in 4 people or 24% of the population.
Scope is a disability equality charity campaigning for an equal future for all disabled people and providing support to thousands of disabled people every year. People can still sponsor Leighton for taking part and winning the fight, to raise money for Scope: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Leighton-Mees1
