Nolan was already scheduled to compete in the show when Nicole died, and says the grief he felt made him want to do something to help others with epilepsy and raise awareness of the risks.
“I thought, I can’t sit back and let this happen. I decided to raise money and awareness of a condition that not many people know about.”
He trains at Ox Fight Academy in Workington and describes MMA as “a mixture of boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu… everything rolled into one.”
Nolan admits the fight will be “the hardest of his life”.
“The lad I’m fighting has a lot more experience, he’s been training a lot longer than me. But it means more than a win or a loss.”
So far, he has raised more than £4,000 for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) Action.
“Hopefully, she would be proud, that’s what I keep thinking all the time. I hope I’m making her and her family proud and giving them a little bit of happiness in such a dark time.”