Head Coach
Matt “12 Gauge” Thorpe was an experienced campaigner in the UK MMA scene having spent eight years working his way up the pro ranks in shows across the UK. A veteran of King Of The Cage UK, Ultimate Warrior Challenge, Cage Warriors, Bodog Fight, Ultimate Combat and many more; this 6ft 4in/193cm tall athlete cut an imposing figure inside the Cage and impressed on many occasions.
Rated for many years as one of the UK’s top Welterweight fighters, Thorpe holds wins over the likes of the former Cage Rage British Champion Che Mills; the German Shidokan star Peter Angerer; the Shooto Holland veteran, Raymon Jarman and the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player; Claudio Henrique.
Matt later chose to move up to the Middleweight division, when he was chosen to represent England as part of the English M1 Challenge Team. This lead him to compete on the world stage including America, Holland, Japan, Russia and Sweden. During this period he worked his way into the UK’s top ten and challenged for a British Title.
Matt is most famously known for his epic battle for the CWFC World Welterweight Title against Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy back in 2005. That bout was one of the greatest contests in the history of the CWFC and UK MMA, due to the cat-and-mouse like action of the out, which saw Thorpe lock on numerous submission attempts and take the action to his opponent, before falling just short to a controversial split decision.
Matt has been involved in some form of Martial Arts since he was 10 when he started Tae-Kwon-Doe. He then moved onto Kickboxing (which he has a Black Belt in) and when he was 18 discovered the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
He has trained in Thai boxing, boxing, Olympic wrestling and BJJ all over the North West and has trained with many world class fighters and coaches. He has also made the trip overseas to America and Japan to further his knowledge.
He has coached Hobbyists, Amateurs right through to Professional fighters. He has also been a qualified personal trainer for several years so has created personalized strength, conditioning and nutrition programs for people and athletes to suit their goals.
