{"id":856305,"date":"2026-08-13T07:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856305\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T07:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:20:13","slug":"a-luton-mma-gym-is-helping-young-men-build-bright-new-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856305\/","title":{"rendered":"A Luton MMA gym is helping young men build bright new futures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MuhammedMuhammed Eesa training session at Legends MMA and Fitness Centre, Luton. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/a><\/p>\n

Legends MMA has transformed lives \u2014\u00a0especially that of 17-year-old Muhammad Eesa, who is now preparing to represent his country in international competition<\/p>\n

\"Taj<\/p>\n

On a warm July evening, 17-year-old Muhammad Eesa<\/a> enters Legends MMA and Fitness Centre<\/a> in Luton<\/a>. Dressed in a dark grey T-shirt and black shorts, he begins shadow boxing, working through combinations long before anyone else arrives for the evening\u2019s training session.<\/p>\n

It is in this very spot that Eesa rebuilt his life. After losing two close family members, mixed martial arts (MMA) became an outlet for his grief. And now he\u2019s getting ready to take to the world stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me a way out,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s all I think about in the morning. I can\u2019t wait to go to the gym in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eesa is now preparing to fight for Team England at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation Youth World Championships<\/a> in Abu Dhabi. The tournament begins on 16 August and includes emerging fighters from around the world. For Eesa, it is the opportunity of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Housed inside a former factory building, Legends is a no-frills operation. Original steel roof trusses, weathered corrugated panels and white-painted brick walls nod to the building\u2019s industrial history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the heart of the facility lies a large professionally matted training area bordered by black padded walls. A television loops UFC fights, heavy bags hang in one corner and an octagonal MMA cage with a black chain-link fence sits nearby. One by one, young fighters filter through the doors, greeting Eesa before joining him on the floor.<\/p>\n

Just a short walk from Bury Park<\/a>, the centre of Luton\u2019s Asian community, the gym attracts teenagers and young adults from various backgrounds. The majority are British Pakistanis, but Nigerians, Lithuanians and other groups are well represented.<\/p>\n

Though Eesa admits that preparing for a fight can be nerve-racking, he maintains that his hardest battles have been fought outside the ring. When he was 11, he lost his brother Amaan Iqbal to a long-term illness at only 12 years old.<\/p>\n

\"AEesa straps up his hands at the gym. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really anxious. I would overthink. I didn\u2019t have an older sibling to talk to,\u201d he recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2021, hoping to find some closure, Eesa travelled to Pakistan<\/a>. He quickly struck up a friendship with his 16-year-old cousin, Afzaal Hussain. \u2018We pretty much spent every day together,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

One day, Essa was swimming near the Mangla Dam<\/a> in Azad Kashmir. He was caught in a flash surge, when a dam released water without warning. Eesa was drowning. Despite not being able to swim, his cousin jumped in to save him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lost his life saving mine,\u201d says Eesa.<\/p>\n

Eesa returned to school three weeks later, traumatised and struggling to cope. His mental health<\/a> had deteriorated and he experienced bullying. He became isolated, lashed out and got into fights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI got suspended from school,\u201d he remembers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then a teacher suggested that Eesa channel his aggression at the newly opened MMA gym nearby. The first few sessions were humbling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI got my ego broken,\u201d Eesa laughs, recalling being hit squarely in the face during his first attempt at sparring.<\/p>\n

\"AFaisal Malik, head coach at Legends MMA and Fitness Centre,. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/p>\n

Still, he persevered and now acknowledges that those early hard knocks were instrumental in building both his physical and mental strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be very paranoid,\u201d Eesa says. \u201cIf someone said something small to me, I would think about it for so long. But fast-forward three years, I feel a lot better. I can shrug things off better. My mental health has improved a lot. A large part of that is the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite still being a teenager, Eesa speaks with a maturity beyond his years. That level of personal growth has demanded a great deal of sacrifice. Gone are the takeaways and late nights. Meals are weighed, routines are strict and discipline is everything. At family weddings, while everyone else enjoys the food, Eesa often waits outside to avoid deviating from his diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I think I can conquer the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThe next day I\u2019m craving a burger and chips. Motivation comes and goes. You\u2019ve got to have discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eesa is an all rounder in the cage. He places equal value in both striking and grappling and is dedicated to refining those skills. He\u2019s had three amateur fights so far, all ending in wins by submission.<\/p>\n

The person he credits most for those results is his coach, Faisal Malik<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Malik, 32, founded Legends four years ago. While I\u2019m there he barely pauses for breath. As we talk he welcomes newcomers, signs people in and checks on fighters already warming up.<\/p>\n

Opposite the reception desk is a small but well-equipped strength and conditioning area, complete with cycling machines, a squat rack, Olympic barbells and stacks of plates. It\u2019s an old-school set-up intended for serious work.<\/p>\n

\"AA men\u2019s boxing session at the gym. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Legends was just an idea in Malik\u2019s head, but his gym has already brought the sport he loves to the heart of his community. \u201cSomeone new is always coming in. Every hour of the day,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve put everything into this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik started boxing aged 10, after being inspired by stories of his grandfather, a respected wrestler from Kotli in Azad Kashmir.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was known for it. I never really met him because he passed away when I was quite young, but I always heard stories about him,\u201d Malik explains. \u201cWhenever I went back home, I\u2019d see his training equipment and I\u2019d always wonder what it was. I remember the amount of respect I used to get when I went back. People would say, \u2018That\u2019s his grandson.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Other influences were closer to home. \u201cMy older brothers and cousins were into bodybuilding and martial arts,\u201d he says. \u201cI always loved watching fights. I remember Googling Mike Tyson\u2026 I watched WWE all the time as well. From there, I thought, \u2018Yeah, let me learn this.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many of the young men he coaches, Malik\u2019s teenage years were turbulent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a naughty kid,\u201d he says \u201cGot into lots of fights. Got kicked out of school in year 11. Just came back to sit exams.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also struggled with his weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was five foot eight and around 120kg. In my head, I was thinking, \u2018Honestly, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ever going to make it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AMuhammed Eesa standing in front of MMA title belts at the gym. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/p>\n

Asked what changed, he pauses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was just maturity,\u201d he says.\u201dAge started kicking in a bit. I started thinking, \u2018What am I actually going to do?’\u201d<\/p>\n

He began training in MMA at 17. Sticking to a strict diet and training regimen, he went on\u00a0 to fight in both featherweight (66kg) and bantamweight (61kg) classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I knew it, I was competing,\u201d he says. \u201cI became addicted to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In working-class towns like Luton violent crime, particularly incidents involving bladed weapons, is an ongoing concern. Recently, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death<\/a> in a local park. In the wake of that killing, there have been growing calls for greater mentorship for young people. Malik sees MMA as a useful antidote to many social issues outside the gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese youngsters need someone to talk to,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve seen so many troubled kids. They will talk to me and open up. They want to belong somewhere. It could be a gang, but it could be this gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik gestures to a young lad practicising boxing drills on the mats. \u201cHe was on the roads getting arrested,\u201d he says. \u201cNow he works in a jewellery shop. Life\u2019s on track. Getting his qualifications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he points to another young fighter in a Palestine<\/a> T-shirt. \u201cThis kid got kicked out of school. He started coming here at 10 in the morning at the beginning of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik reels off a number of other examples of lives being transformed. One boy who lost 20kg, people who quit smoking. Others, who once carried knives and guns, abandoning that lifestyle to pursue professional fighting careers.<\/p>\n

\"PrayerPrayer mats at the gym. Photography for Hyphen by Hassan Raja<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of kids, if they don\u2019t do well in education, they can end up going down the wrong path,\u201d Malik says. \u201cThis was make or break for me. If it wasn\u2019t for MMA, I probably would have ended up getting up to no good, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Malik has helped hundreds in the town, he insists that he can\u2019t take all the credit.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not going to sit here and say, \u2018I did this, I did that.\u2019 At the end of the day, they did it themselves. They made the change themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik is proud of all the fighters who he has trained, especially Eesa. \u201cI saw a broken kid when he first came to me,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought \u2018I just need to keep this kid on track\u2026\u2019 I text him about 20 times a day: \u2018Have you eaten? What did you eat? Have you done your training?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik has high hopes for Eesa. \u201cHe\u2019s a very talented young man,\u201d he says. \u201cPotential to go all the way to the top. I believe he will be No 1, inshallah.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he clearly loves MMA and the positive effects it can have on his students\u2019 lives, he does not shy away from talking about the difficulties young Muslims face within the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started getting into the fighting world, it was predominantly white. You didn\u2019t see many Asians and there was a lot of racism,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That began to change after the UFC Lightweight Championship bout<\/a> between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Connor McGregor in October 2018. It was the first UFC match that Eesa had watched but it proved a pivotal moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inspired by Nurmagomedov\u2019s victory and his public persona as a proud and unapologetic Muslim fighter, a growing number of young Muslims took up MMA. Despite a strong presence at all levels of the sport, the problem of discrimination persists.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my fights, when I\u2019m walking out, I\u2019ve heard it clearly: \u2018You Paki, you\u2019re going to lose.\u2019 It\u2019s always been there,\u201d says Malik.<\/p>\n

Now, he believes that racism in MMA reflects broader social trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are Tommy Robinson supporters fighting,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe go to Kent, for example\u2026 The whole environment is like that. It\u2019s got worse. Way worse. Before, it was more hidden. Now it\u2019s open. People are more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Legends, boxing training has ended and, after a short interval, the grappling begins. Young fighters gather in a circle as another coach demonstrates ground combat techniques, including how to apply and escape chokeholds.<\/p>\n

When the session draws to a close, 60 gruelling minutes later, the fighters start to make their way home. Eesa will be back the next day, preparing with the same intensity for the biggest competition of his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While he\u2019ll soon swap this old warehouse space for the bright lights of the UAE<\/a>, he\u2019ll never forget that it was here, as a teenager overwhelmed by grief, that he found somewhere to belong.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brotherhood I experienced here is second to none,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s taught me that this journey doesn\u2019t have to be as lonely as I thought. There\u2019s always people willing to help, you just have to search in the right places.\u201d<\/p>\n