If you met 30-year-old Jeff Lawson in the street you wouldn’t guess he beats other blokes up for a living.
Not only does his 5’6” frame seem a little on the small side, but also he seems far too nice.
Could such a friendly, genuine kind of guy really beat a man unconscious?
Well, yes.
In fact Jeff is somewhat of an expert at it. His prolific record has seen him win 24 of his 26 fights, which has helped him earn the bragging rights as the UK’s mixed martial arts champion.
It’s an accolade that requires Jeff to have incredible strength and fitness, something he is working on today at the Bournemouth Bulldog Training Academy.
To most gym goers it might seem an unorthodox way of training, however Jeff’s circuit is certainly more interesting than lifting free weights and running on the treadmill.
Instead he bashes sledgehammers on tractor tyres, throws weighted dummy bags over his shoulder and lifts the huge tractor tyres. When he’s not doing that he might be mountain biking around the Purbecks, swimming or practising martial arts – it’s all part of his intense regime. “I train three or four times a day. I couldn’t do it if I didn’t have the family I have got,” explains Jeff.
“Not everyone has got a job like I have. It’s very interesting and it will be something for my little boy, Leo, to talk about when he goes to school.”
Leo will certainly win that age-old debate, as to whose dad is the “hardest” too, but how did his father get into fighting?
“I started in judo, I have been doing that for 23 years now,” he says. “My judo teacher was very open to letting me try new martial arts so I went from judo to doing a bit of wrestling, to ju-jitsu, then kick-boxing and Thai boxing.
“It all just gelled together and that’s mixed martial arts – hence the ultimate fighter.”
Jeff’s latest venture sees him taking part in a series called The Ultimate Fighter – a reality television programme which aims to discover the sport’s newest talent.
Over 1,000 mixed martial artists from two continents auditioned for the programme, which is aired on Virgin 1 at 11pm on Sundays.
Of those 1,000 hopefuls only 16 of them earned a place in a Big Brother style house, where the fighters live together and literally fight to stay in the house.
The eventual winner of the show will earn themselves a six figure contract to fight in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
“It was a bit surreal because you don’t normally live and hang around with the person you’re going to be smashing in within the next few days,” chuckles Jeff.
“But we’re all professional athletes and there was no animosity between us. There’s a winner and a loser in every sport. If you look at it as a proper, personal fight you’re not going to go very far in it.”
Although ultimate fighting isn’t currently as big in the UK as it is in America, Jeff believes all that is set to change.
“It’s going to get a lot bigger over here without a doubt. After this programme a lot more people are going to know about it.”
If you would like to train with Jeff, then he offers combat conditioning sessions, which include working with barrels, sledge hammers, tractor tyres and medicine balls.
However, Jeff insists that it’s not for the faint hearted as I found out when he put me through my paces.
“I train one guy who is sick every week,” he chuckles. “I follow him around with a bin.”
For further details on Jeff’s training classes call 07787743162.
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