Brakpan’s Darius Becker seems to be well on his way to realising his dream of being a professional mixed martial arts fighter.
Darius, who turns 15 later this month, has been the South African champion in both MMA and kickboxing for seven years.
He is also heading to the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Youth World Championships in Abu Dhabi, which runs from August 17 to 20.
He will be fighting in the 63kg weight division.
“I’m excited about going to world championships,” he said.
This is the second time the youngster goes to the tournament, having competed at the 2019 event in Italy. He came fourth.
“I will know what to expect this time around,” said Darius.
The Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies’ (XKT) fighter is gunning for first place. Young Darius has been involved in combat sports since he was four years old.
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“My dad first got me into karate, then he took me to a kickboxing club and then to XKT. I have been training here for over 10 years,” he said.
His dedication to the sport is evident as he trains “almost every night of the week”.
He became the South African kickboxing champion and then won the national MMA title in less than a week.
The youngster is clear about his vision when asked how far he wants to go in the sport.
“I want to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” he replied.
He goes to his second world championships feeling quite confident. While winning the world title as an amateur is an immediate goal, Darius plans to turn professional at age 18.
While he has earned his place at the world championships, he is grateful to those who have helped him get there.
“I want to say thank you to all the people who have supported me when we were raising funds to go to the world championships,” he said.
The youngster will land in the United Arab Emirates in less than two weeks with one goal in mind – to win the world title and make a name for himself.
