MMA meca of the U.K.

Just interested in where you guys would consider to be the heart of mma in the U.K., in terms of where the mma scene is the largest and the there are the most good gyms.

IMO London and manchester are definitely up there, any other suggestions?

I'm mainly interessted because I'm going to uni after my gap year and would like to go somewhere with good gyms and a good mma scene.

 

I'd say London.
Not only do you have good MMA clubs but also good sub-disclipline clubs too (BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling etc).

 

Liverpool is doing pretty well for itself at the moment. You've got Next Gen, Kaobon, and Wolfslair (plus a few smaller clubs) all relatively close to each other. It's also easy to get to Manchester.

Might be an option if you can't find a course you want to do in Manchester?

 

I just realised I spelt mecca wrong too, it's not looking good for uni.

Thanks for the awnsers so far. London probably would be my first choice since there are so many clubs for all diciplines there and of course London shoot fighters too.

My priority is kickboxing/muay thai, I'm just not sure how spread out the clubs are in london and how easy it would would be to reach them as I'll probably only have a moped.

 

Manchester then or go to Wrexham and visit russ's place im sure Moi would agree

Both cheaper than London

 

London might have alot of clubs to train at but it is a hell of a lot more expensive to live there. Once you take into consideration living expenses etc it may not leave you much to put towards training.

 

North west has some great thai places, thinking of Sandy Holt in Bolton or Master Sken in Stockport, both really close to Manchester , then there are really great MMA places in Manc too including SBG (also in Stockport) and Predators, to name but a couple.

 

Agree about cost of living in London. The North West, Manchester in particular has some good universities. Seems like there are plenty of places to train in Manchester. Also, since many people stay in the locale after university, it is also a good place for employment.

 

You could always go to cardiff uni and come train with me

 

For MMA Liverpool, for Muay Thai Manchester

 

Brighton is a great place to live/go to uni and you've got ZT fight school which is a great gym with a variety of classes.

Having grown up in London I can think of nicer places to live but some people seem to love it so each to their own

 

ZT is a class set up, Sol Gilbert top guy, good choice, go to Brighton, you have the seaside too.

 

You could do a lot worse than the North East of England.

Here we have Sor Thanikul Muay Thai incoporating the "Knuckledraggers" MMA team and boasts Kru Barry Norman and Peter Irving (who writes for magazine "Fighters Only").

Gracie Barra - BJJ, Submission Grappling and Vale Tudo

And then there's the Advanced Fighting Centre where I train - given the thumbs up by BJ Penn.

So, yeah the UK is chockablock full of good MMA schools, I guess the main thing would be for you to first decide on an area of the UK you'd like to live in.

 

Thanks for all the input, Manchester is looking pretty good.

The next question i probably going to make me look like an *******, but I'm going to ask it regardless. How big is the gay scene in Brighton? I don't have a problem with gay people, but I'm not a big fan of gay culture. Is it always in your face and is there a large gay community specifically in the university?

I just ask because I've heard it's the gay capital of the U.K. Other than that I like it.

 

Good grief, Axelator, you are a total ****! :woo:
Alright, you're only a young 'un.

You're probably more likely to be propositioned in an insular community like an Oxford or Cambridge college. Yes there is a gay scene in Manchester, but then so has any other big UK city/town.

You'll probably never encounter it unless you go to a gay club "for a laugh" with your mates. You might come across a gay/lesbian welfare group during fresher's week. But no one will be out to "convert" you!

 

So far I've put Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool as choices, thanks for all the feedback. Any other good mma gyms around the country? I'm liking brighton alot atm I think I'll probably go there, even if it's quite a weak university especially for politics.

 

I would say choose a good University over a good MMA club. Sorry, but (not to sound too much like an adult) choosing how to train better over getting a better education is not a good move.
When your education ends, thats it. Yes you can go back to it, but it takes over a lot more of your life than a sport does.

 

From what I understand it matters less which university you go to and more which level you pass your degree at. I probably could get into a uni like York or Durham but what's the point if your not happy.