At 32 with more of a keg than a six-pack, a dad of four girls signed up for a cage fight. He will get 8 weeks of training through Ultra MMA and is raising money for Cancer Research, but as a self-proclaimed average dad, is he even fit enough to step into the cage?
In what many of his family and friends describe as a moment of madness, he signed up for the Leeds Ultra MMA event on the 11th of December. So far, Ultra MMA has raised £1,834,046 for Cancer Research UK and like many of his fellow competitors, Jac is raising money ahead of his fight.
Cancer has affected many people across the globe and Jac’s motivation for signing up is his kids. Cancer not only hits the person hard but it rips through families like a hurricane, with children seeing parents becoming shells of their former selves and partners becoming carers. With more than 400 people being diagnosed with preventable cases of cancer every day in the UK, having a healthier lifestyle can drastically reduce the risk of developing cancer.
“I’m not getting any younger and admittedly I haven’t really looked after my body. When life got busy I guess I forgot about my health. What really drove this home was not being able to keep up with my kids. I don’t want their childhood memories of me to be an out-breath, sweaty mess”
– Jac Morton
Being overweight doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely develop cancer. But if you are overweight you are more likely to get cancer than if you are a healthy weight. Your exact risk will depend on many factors, including things you can’t change such as your age and genetics. Losing weight or avoiding putting on more weight can help reduce the risk of cancer. People keeping a healthy weight could prevent around 22,800 cases of cancer every year in the UK.
Making changes to his lifestyle in preparation for his fight on the 11th of December he has dropped 2 stones, stopped smoking and started to eat better. At 5ft 9” and currently sitting in the light heavyweight category (UFC 13 st 2 – 14 st 6) he believes he still has a bit of weight to drop.
“What I have discovered since starting to train, is I have more energy and my general mood has improved drastically. I will be sticking to the changes I have made after the fight, it has just proven to me how badly I was looking after my body and how I was at higher risk of developing a serious illness. I want to be around to walk all my girls down the aisle.”
For more information on the event visit Ultra MMA’s website: ultra-mma.co.uk
