{"id":53988,"date":"2025-08-08T22:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T22:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/53988\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T22:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T22:50:12","slug":"im-a-world-champion-making-my-mma-debut-in-europes-200million-promotion-but-still-work-in-my-family-run-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/53988\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a world champion making my MMA debut in Europe\u2019s \u00a3200million promotion \u2013 but still work in my family-run shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Niamh Kinehan’s career highlights the pay discrepancy between disciplines in the world of martial arts.<\/p>\n

Kinehan, 26, has transitioned to MMA after becoming an undisputed world champion in Muay Thai.<\/p>\n

\"Kinehan<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Kinehan boasts a Muay Thai and Kickboxing record of 23-5-1Credit: OKTAGON MMA<\/p>\n

She holds the WBC, WMO and ISKA titles at 135lbs in Muay Thai, having fought around the world during her 11-year fighting career.<\/p>\n

Despite her success in kickboxing, the Briton now finds herself entering the world of MMA as she gears up for her debut at Oktagon 74 in Prague on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Oktagon are arguably Europe’s largest MMA promotion<\/a>, with one of its owners, Pavol Neruda, suggesting it is worth more than \u00a3200 million now.<\/p>\n

Their latest card is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Cecilie\u00a0Bolander and Lucia\u00a0Szabova, while Liverpudlian Mick Stanton takes on Kaerim Engizek<\/a> in a huge middleweight bout.<\/p>\n

Kinehan faces Michaela Hlavacikova in the first fight of the night in a rematch, as they have previously collided in Muay Thai, and it marks both women’s debut in the sport.<\/p>\n

“It’s a completely new journey now,” Kinehan told talkSPORT.com ahead of her fight at Stvanice Stadium, where she will be fighting in front of a record crowd for her career.<\/p>\n

“I’ve done everything I need to do in Thai boxing. I’ve ticked that one off. <\/p>\n

“Now it’s my time to work my way back up in the MMA scene.<\/p>\n

“I’m starting on the first fight of the show. I’ve not done that in so long, it’s crazy, but my aim is to get back up near the main event as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n

Kinehan has been training in martial arts since the age of five and has always had the goal of being a world champion.<\/p>\n

\"Kinehan<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Kinehan still works part-time in a shop while pursuing her fighting dreamsCredit: OKTAGON MMA\"Oktagon<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Oktagon have put on some of the biggest European MMA events since 2016Credit: OKTAGON MMA<\/p>\n

She went into coaching and fitness after leaving school, before getting a part-time job that she incredibly still works in now.<\/p>\n

“I work in a family-owned shop and have been able to choose my own hours and work around it,” Kinehan said, speaking on the challenges of balancing a regular job with her fighting, which many young people could aspire to.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do that and have just dropped day by day, so I can still do what I need to do because training comes first.”<\/p>\n

Kinehan asserted her drive ‘to want it’ has kept her pushing through the tough times of working and fighting at the same time.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to commit,” she added. <\/p>\n

“You’ve got to put the time in, and you can’t have any excuses because it’s not going to work.<\/p>\n

“There’s been times where you’ve got to be motivated, and some days you do wake up and think, ‘Gosh, this is a lot,’ but you’ve just got to get through it.<\/p>\n

\"Kinehan<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Kinehan has said her drive ‘to want it’ has got her through tough timesCredit: OKTAGON MMA<\/p>\n

“Even on the worst days, you have to just get through it. You can only make so many excuses because it’s your life, it’s your journey, and if you want it that much, then you’ve got to put it in. <\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, some people are lucky enough now that when you go further in your career, you don’t have to work, and it’s full-time fighting.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to get there first. You’ve got to prove yourself.”<\/p>\n

Kinehan has continued her striking training at Frank’s Gym in Manchester, while picking up and drilling her grappling at Aspire Combat Sports Academy in Liverpool.<\/p>\n

She will need more than just her elite stand-up game to succeed in mixed martial arts.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has been touted as one of the best female strikers in the fighting world, drawing comparisons to PFL star Dakota Ditcheva.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Oktagon 74 Main Card<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Europe’s \u20ac200m MMA Promotion<\/p>\n

Main event: Cecilie\u00a0Bolander vs Lucia\u00a0Szabova (bantamweight title fight)<\/p>\n

Tipsport Gamechanger<\/p>\n

Kerim\u00a0Engizek vs Mick StantonDominik\u00a0Humburger vs Mark HulmeKrzysztof\u00a0Jotko vs Marek MazuchPiotr\u00a0Wawrzyniak vs Hojat\u00a0KhajevandFirst fight: Michaela\u00a0Hlavacikova vs Niamh KinehanFounder of OKTAGON, Pavol Neruda, states he wants the organisation to be The Champions League of MMA<\/p>\n

However, her career in MMA could well be defined by what is to come in her grappling game.<\/p>\n

Only time will tell if Kinehan can replicate her kickboxing success in the cage, but the Brit certainly looks to have all the potential in her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Niamh Kinehan’s career highlights the pay discrepancy between disciplines in the world of martial arts. Kinehan, 26, has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,9226,44928,44929,27317,85],"class_list":["post-53988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-mma-news","tag-niamh-kinehan","tag-oktagon-74","tag-oktagon-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}