Advertisement

Belleville, Ont. MMA fighter hopes to one day reach UFC

Click to play video: 'Belleville, Ont. MMA fighter has sights set on UFC'
Belleville, Ont. MMA fighter has sights set on UFC
WATCH: Nick Hatton was victorious in his latest MMA fight. He's hoping to build off that success to go as far as he can up the MMA ranks – May 3, 2023

A knockout blow was the deciding factor in Nick Hatton’s most recent MMA fight. Hatton defeated Fred Ca by knockout on April 29th in Toronto.

The outcome was a welcome change after losing his last fight in January.

“It didn’t go my way, I got tapped out in the first round,” Nick Hatton said. “And I wanted a quick turnaround so Zack got me this fight and it was a better style of opponent for me. More of a striker, last guy I fought was a grappler.”

He first started training in mixed martial arts through Muay Thai. He now trains at Infinite in Belleville, where he starts training camp six weeks before a fight.

Story continues below advertisement

He has fought competitively for a year and has competed in seven fights across the MMA, kickboxing and boxing categories. His record is 4-3.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“It’s just experience, right?” Hatton said.  “I’ll take any type of fight, any type of martial arts competition just to get that experience. Because it all helps you with MMA.”

Hatton has fought for three different promotions: Montreal Fight League, Scorpion Combat, Thicc Boy Promotions. But he hopes these are all stepping stones to bigger and better things.

“To get to the UFC. That’s the ultimate goal,” Hatton said. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I was 16. It’s all I’ve been thinking about for six years now.

“Every day I wake up and I’m on YouTube watching fighting, all day I’m thinking about fighting. As soon as I’m off work I go to the gym, and I train. I go home, and watch more fighting.”

His first taste of mixed martial arts came at 16 when he began kickboxing to cope with the loss of his father — something he’s thankful for to this day.

“One hundred per cent. It’s made me a way better person. It’s taught me a lot, for sure — I could have gone a totally different route, for sure,” Hatton said.

Story continues below advertisement

“I have a lot of friends who took different paths, and I’m glad I stuck with martial arts.”

His next scheduled fight will take place on Sept. 30 for Thicc Boy Promotions, but he hopes to book himself another fight over the summer to stay in tip-top shape.

Click to play video: 'Kingston MMA fighter gets ready for big battle in New York State.'
Kingston MMA fighter gets ready for big battle in New York State.

Sponsored content

AdChoices