When you grow up fighting, you think you have seen struggles and adversity – but nothing could have prepared me for what happened last year.

I was sleeping at home along with my family when an electrical fire started.

Within seconds I had to get my wife and two children to safety, we made it with seconds to spare before the whole house was destroyed. 

We lost everything in that fire, and had to rebuild from scratch. 

I am thankful we survived. It has changed me forever. It has changed my mindset and the way I think about life. It made me a lot stronger. Getting my family out in those circumstances, and then having to rebuild was difficult, but it has only made me stronger. 

Knowing you were that close to it all ending gives you added perspective in life, and in my case added fight. 

I have been fighting all my life – only my mindset has changed

I grew up in a tough neighbourhood and fighting was something you were surrounded by – you did it to survive in those days.

Back then, I never really considered fighting as a job or profession – it was just something I had to do on the streets, but when I found myself without a job I thought I would give it a try.

The best feeling is when the door locks. Then is the time to have fun. It is not that I do it for the money, I do it because I love it. Yes, a lot of people do it because there is money involved, but this is really my passion – it is what I have known all my life. Now I can make some money out of it, so why not. 

Whenever I step inside the cage I am fighting for my kids and my family, and all those people who I care about. When my kids were born my whole life changed. When my little boy was born it made me feel so much stronger. Now I have a little girl who gives me the love and attention that just makes me feel alive. My kids are without doubt the best thing that ever happened to me. 

They are the ones that help me get through the tough times. If there is ever a moment where I ever have doubt, or think about giving up, the first thing that comes into my head is the kids. I think that I am doing all this for them, and that I want to give them a better life than I did.