Gym 01 head coach excited to run the rule over fledgling talents at Shock N Awe: Contenders IV

The bumper amateur mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Muay Thai event returns to Southsea’s Pyramids Centre on Saturday, February 9.

A host of up-and-coming prospects from Fratton’s Gym 01 feature on the stacked card, as well as fighters from the Isle of Wight’s Vectis MMA, Guildford’s Mavericks Martial Arts Academies and Xion Gym, in Andover, among others. 

Johnson believes the Contenders shows are the perfect breeding ground for novices to gain crucial experience.

The promoter and Gym 01 head coach will also be earmarking potential charges to compete on the main Shock N Awe shows in the future.  

‘We’ve got a load of our Gym 01 newbies coming through and we’re looking forward to seeing how they get on,’ said Johnson. 

‘We’ve also got novice fighters coming from other south-coast gyms. 

‘It’s really exciting because when you match a professional fight, there’s loads of footage available online.

‘But this is all about experience and it’s why we like working with all these established and well-known gyms.

‘There’s no point in lying to each to each other regarding fighters’ ability because we’d burn our relationship just to get one of our debutants a win.

‘That would be ridiculous, although you still get some gyms like that.

‘It’s really a nice and refreshing experience for them to go in their blind and learn from it.

‘All the big names like Gwyn Barry, who won on the main card at Shock N Awe 28 in November, started off on Contenders.

‘This is a show for them to gain experience and we put on a nice little card at the Pyramids.’

Tickets for Shock N Awe: Contenders 4 cost £30 each.

Click here to purchase them in advance. 

Tickets for Shock N Awe: 29 are also on sale.

The south coast’s premier MMA show takes place at Portsmouth Guildhall on Saturday, March 15. 

Gym 01 flyweight Elliott Hoye bids to move his perfect record to 4-0 when he meets dangerous Frenchman Sami Yahia in the main event.