Liverpool mixed martial arts star Adam Cullen dedicated his first-round knockout win this weekend, to a close friend that died from suicide, with a heartfelt message.
Cullen, 26, made it back-to-back wins as he defeated Brazilian fighter Nonato Junior by first round TKO, at Cage Warriors 185 in Manchester, on Saturday night.
After the victory, Cullen sent a personal message to the man that became one of the first people to support him in his career, as he told the ECHO: “I want to dedicate this fight to my first ever sponsor, he lost his life to suicide, so that was for him. Thank you for everything.”
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The Scouser went on to make an important plea as he said: “If you take anything away from this interview, check in on your mates because you don’t know what they’re going through.”
Cullen had to overcome adversity in the octagon too at the weekend, the 26-year-old dropped to a knee inside the first ten seconds of the fight after he was hit by a right hand, but he quickly managed to wrestle himself out of danger, before getting the stoppage win.
Cullen’s message followed a trend of fighters from Liverpool’s Next Generation MMA gym, after the likes of Paddy Pimblett said after his UFC London win in 2022: “There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk. Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got weight on your shoulders and think the only way you can solve it is by killing yourself, please speak to someone! Speak to anyone.
“I know I’d rather my mate cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week. So, please let’s get rid of this stigma and men, start talking!”
Cullen could now be only a few fights away from joining his teammate in the biggest MMA promotion in the world – the UFC – as he now sits with an impressive 9-2 record, and all of his wins have been stopped inside the distance.
He said: “[The UFC] has got to be close. It’s not only the wins, it’s the finishes. I’ve got a 100% finish rate, eight of them in the first round, all of them entertaining. Why wouldn’t the UFC want me?”
The rest of the Next Gen fighters at the event also won inside the distance.
Francis Breen, Chris Price, and Luke Riley all won to complete a 4-0 clean sweep for the Liverpool fight gym.
