A rising Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star from Tyneside has revealed he dreams of making it all the way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Joseph Kenworthy, who goes by Kenny, trains out of McNaldo’s Martial Arts in Hebburn and said he does not know what he would be doing now without the sport.
The 20-year-old, who also hopes to inspire the next generation of children to take MMA up, said: “I do not think it would be very good. I see loads of younger kids going down the route that I almost went down and I think it is really important to get out of that kind of life, get out of that path and get into a good sport like MMA. It teaches you discipline, respect, it kills your ego.
“The best people, the nicest people I know are from the gym. They are all the hardest people I know too. I think it goes hand in hand. But I think it is really important for younger kids to get off that path and get in the gym. Kids do not even have to fight, but it is a good way to get fit, strong. If you are doing nothing, smoking, doing drugs, a good start is to get fit, get healthy and go from there.”
Kenny has dreams of one day becoming a UFC champion
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Joe McNally, who runs McNaldo’s Martial Arts where Kenny trains out of, said the fighter is on for big things: “He came to the gym when he was about 16 and has completely matured. He works in construction and is working his way up. He is just a lovely lad. He has had seven fights, won six of them and has won two belts along the way. One of his last fights, he fought a guy from Ireland and knocked him out in the first round. The guy from Ireland was a kickboxing world champion, so he is on to big things.”
Kenny works as a joiner Monday to Friday and also trains out of the gym six times a week. He is fighting at amateur level at the minute, but Joe believes he can make professional very soon.
Joe said: “He is fighting at amateur at the minute. In terms of MMA, there is not a huge difference between amateur and professional. There is a difference with the gloves, amateurs fight with seven ounce gloves and the professionals with four ounces. Not a big difference, but when you turn pro you are allowed to throw elbows, so he is fighting at a high level at amateur and when he does turn professional, which should probably be in about a year, there will not be too much of a difference.”
Kenny, who tried his hand at boxing when he was younger but did not could not get into it, said he has always looked up to UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.
Kenny said: “He is the best ever. Realistically, you should not be looking up to someone who is not the best if you want to be the best. “I think his mindset is crucial. You have got to have belief to make it happen.”
Kenny, who has his own dreams of one day becoming a UFC champion, said: “You do not start off in the UFC, but the better amateur career you have, the better chance you have of having better fights early on in your professional career, because it shows the level that you are at. You start off with a smaller promotion and then eventually, if you are good enough, you get picked up.”
Kenny said he has ‘an elite mentality’, and would never turn down a fight. He said: “It is all experience. I have never said ‘no’ to a fight and I never would. If you want to be the best, you have to fight the best. Whoever I fight, it does not matter.”
And Joe believes there is something special about Kenny and would ultimately like him to go down to part-time at his job, with the view to eventually training and fighting full-time.
Kenny is hoping to inspire the next generation of children in Hebburn to take up MMA
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
“We have managed to get him some sponsors, such as local businesses. One of them will pay him £60 a month which covers his membership, others will give him around £200 a fight. We are kind of building this up so he can take the stress off work and maybe go part-time there.
“Sponsorships pay for extra private lessons with me. He has also invested in a nutritionist, because he had issues in the past making the weight. He was doing quite drastic weight cuts. Sponsorship paid for a nutritionist and he made the weight easily. It will also pay for competitions in between fights too.”
Joe added he would never tell someone to quit their job, but said about Kenny. He said: “I see something quite special in him and that is why I would encourage him to potentially go part-time with his job and then hopefully full-time here. Because he is so good now, if he did not have the burden of working 9-5 doing manual labour, he could get even better.”
Kenny is fighting in an international tournament this year and said: ” If you want to be the best, you have to fight the best”
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
And Kenny has big plans for 2025 saying his aims are: ‘more experience, train hard, get better’.
He said: “Joe has put my name down for some kind of international competition which would be ideal because I just want to fight the best people I can. I want to fight the best people in the country.”
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