UK based Heavyweight Dave Llewellyn posted his second win of 2015 this past weekend with a stunning KO victory over Lee Curry at Raged UK MMA in Swindon. However, there was something special about this young Heavyweight fighter. Llewellyn was born with meromelia of the right arm which has made his entrance into the sport and his success to date all that more spectacular.
Following this past weekend’s huge KO win over Lee Curry, the video of the fight has gone viral online and the support Llewellyn has received has completely blown him away.
“I never expected anything like it; I am totally overwhelmed with it. It is just crazy. My phone has been going off nonstop. The support I have got is just immense.”
Llewellyn was due to fight Lee Curry earlier in his career in a Muay Thai bout which never came to fruition so on fight night he was more than ready to lock horns. And the fight couldn’t have played out any better for Llewellyn.
“To be honest in a lot of my semi-professional fights and Muay Thai fights I finished them quickly. You don’t get paid overtime as a fighter. I do like to finish a fight quickly it makes more of a statement.”
“Ahead of the fight I had spoke to Paul Taylor who was in my corner as he had trained with Lee so I had a good idea how he would come out and what he wanted to do. But nothing he done was too surprising for me.”
The fight was the second of 2015 with Raged UK MMA for Llewellyn but throughout his Muay Thai, semi-professional and now professional career getting fights for him had not always been straight forward.
“Yeah I mean getting fights at the beginning of my career it was hard. People just see the one arm and think that if they lose to me they will look stupid and a win won’t really help them. I think people think that it’s a lose, lose situation for them. I am hoping that given the guys I have fought and the way I have fought with prove that I am the real deal.”
So when Raged UK came to him with an offer to fight there was a number of factors that made the offer very attractive to the Swindon based fighter.
“I was offered fight after a while out (after he snapped his ACL) and I was just grateful to fight in my new hometown of Swindon. Raged UK is a great upcoming show as you can see from the videos from the weekend. They have very evenly matched fights, it’s very well organised and the owner has it down to a tee.”
The thought of competing in a combat sport for many is beyond the realms of possibility so just how difficult of a decision is it for someone with a disability to make that commitment? Whilst some of Llewellyn’s family were against his decision, he was absolutely set on the idea from a young age.
“For me combat is something that should be done by men. It’s what we are born for and it’s just the way men are. Men want to always prove themselves and combat sports are the ultimate way of doing it.”
“My whole family were boxers so I grew up around combat sports. On my mum’s side there were some Welsh Champion boxers and my Dad’s side we had some Irish boxers. I always wanted to get into fighting.”
“My Dad has always been supportive and has always been there at my fights. On the other hand my Mum has never been to any of the fights and hates the thought of fighting. She just can’t handle seeing her boy getting hit which I suppose is just her mother’s nature. My Granddad couldn’t make this last fight as he is suffering with alzheimer’s and for me that’s just another reason to keep fighting, to make him proud of me.”
Llewellyn now fights out of SVT gym in Swindon under the tutelage of head coach Michael “Oz” Osbourne. SVT have welcomed Llewellyn with open arms but the process of picking a gym to train at for Llewellyn wasn’t an easy decision.
“It can be very daunting walking into a new gym even more for me given my disability. But to be honest my nerves went straight away when I got on the mats and started rolling with the guys. The guys at SVT are fantastic and welcomed me straight away. They are always helping me change and adapt to things.”
Whilst Llewellyn struggled early on in his career to get fights matched he mentioned that since his last fight he has been approached by a number of promotions offering him bouts. His next fight may also be the last he has at Heavyweight with Light Heavyweight offering him a few more options across the UKMMA scene.
“At the moment I have had a number of offers of fights on number of different shows across the country. I’m just speaking with my team and looking at the offers before deciding what to do next.”
“I was supposed to fight at Light Heavyweight before I snapped my ACL and was sidelined. My next fight will probably be at Heavyweight as I don’t want to rush my weight loss. I have a lot of weight to get down to Light Heavyweight.”
“It may sound big headed of me but at Heavyweight I think I move quite well and am light on my feet. So if I can take that to Light Heavyweight with a little better cardio and more speed I feel that will be the right choice for me.”
As a professional MMA fighter the one thing that Llewellyn is always looking for is the win. But given the opportunity of winning a fight or influencing someone else’s life there is no comparison to Llewellyn.
“Hearing that I have inspired and helped people’s lives is better than a win. I have had a lot of people say that I have inspired them and helped them to see things in different way. Nobody should allow a disability to stop them doing what they want to do.”
It seems as though Llewellyn is in a prime spot to really kick off his MMA career following the success of his last fight and will definitely attract a lot of attention whenever he fights next. His story in my eyes is truly inspirational and has a real feel good factor to it. Llewellyn is a guy who is out to set the record straight that regardless of whether you have a disability or not anything in life is possible if you believe in yourself.
Dave would like to “say thank you to all the fans that have supported me. I also want to thank my sponsors Protein Pirates, Temple Fight Gear, Dream Lounge, JPS Roofing & Building, Defined Ridez & Point 5 Photography.”
Be sure to follow Dave on twitter @Llewellyn_Nemo and like his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Nemolefthook