THE UK NO.1 LIGHTWEIGHT

With a record of 8 - 7 in MMA with 6 submission wins, Ian “M16” Butlin is quickly representing the archetypical modern MMA fighter due to his extensive cross training and fitness background.

With a BSc in Sports Science and 19 years training in various Martial Arts, this 27 year old is becoming one of the UK’s most recognisable MMA figures and in many ways is leading the way to true professionalism by quitting his day job, training full time and setting up his own Gym (in conjunction with his brothers Andy and Dave).

As previously mentioned Butlin has an extensive martial arts/combat sports background with 3 years judo, 6 years Thai boxing and was teaching kickboxing (he is a WKA blackbelt) before he took up MMA full time in 2002 after seeing early UFC shows and thinking that he can do that too.

However Butlin is most famous for his amateur boxing background, which most noticeably includes 16 senior bouts with a 12-4 record. Highlights of this include British University Gold at 63.5 kilos (light welterweight) in 2000, internationals in both Cyprus and the Seychelles, (where he had a win and a loss) and winning the Yorkshire title in 2003. However Butlin was robbed of a chance to appear in the National Championships finals after having to box for both the Yorkshire and North East titles on the same night and was ultimately stopped in the latter fight because of a cut with 30 seconds of the final round. It was this disappointment that made Butlin switch to MMA.

Ian back from a tough 18 months off, plagued with injuries, fought again on Cagewarriors Showdown and showed a return to the form that saw him dispatch Shooto and 2H2H veteran Marc Duncan in 90 secs. Ian followed this quick win with a 1st rd knockout of Emmanuel Gaey of France in the Cagewarriors Lightweight Tournament just 8 weeks later. On the same night Ian challenged tough Finnish fighter Jarkko Latomakki but missed out on a shot in the final when he was caught with a fast Rear naked Choke in the dying seconds of the rd.