Saturday 4th April takes Team 12 Gauge up to Stoke-on-Trent for GP UK – Night of the Gladiators. Last time we caught up with 12 Gauge’s Robbie Nicholson and this time it’s the turn of Will Welch.
Will competes under the 12 Gauge MMA banner and puts his training in at his local club, 12 Gauge MMA Macclesfield. A sister club of the main HQ at Stockport, 12 Gauge Macc opened up over a year ago and has been run by Carl Burton ever since. Gaining a loyal following in no time, Will walked in as a complete beginner and grafts each and every session, on top of attending seminars conducted by Nathan Leverton and UFC Middleweight Luke Barnatt. Ultimately he started to compete in a few grappling and striking interclubs and now wants to test himself with his debut in the cage.
I managed to get some time in with Will ahead of his upcoming Light Heavyweight fight…
Thanks for taking some time out for this Will. Firstly, can you give us your thoughts and feelings on your upcoming debut?
“Cheers Dan, I’m excited and honoured to go out there and rep 12 Gauge MMA. My training has been tough ever since I walked through the doors but I’ve never been in better shape. I’m currently solid at 91KG and have no intention of binge eating back to over 100KG again!”
You’re making your debut on 4th April. Tell me what you’re expecting?
“I feel well prepped for Saturday. To be honest I’m not expecting anything in particular really, both of us are debutants and know nothing about one another. I’m going in with my coaches gameplan and I’m confident I can deal with anything unexpected.
Aside of expectations, what are you looking forward to?
“I’m looking forward to the fight as a whole but more so I’m looking forward to showing everyone what hard consistent work achieves. I can’t wait for my friends to see me standing tall with my hand raised in front of the crowd, hopefully it will entice some of them to come down to 12 Gauge too!”
Lastly, who would you like to thank?
“I want to thank everyone at both the Macclesfield and Stockport gyms – especially my coach Carl and Head Coach Matt. Both ensure I learn something new everytime I train. Outside of the gym I’d like to thank all my mates who have stopped mocking me for not drinking, not eating out and missing events because I’m usually knackered from the intense training I get put through – you will all see why I do this next week”
Huge thanks to Will taking some time out to speak to me about his debut. You can contact Matt Thorpe at 12 Gauge MMA for tickets or Carl Burton at 12 Gauge MMA Macclesfield.
