By Caoilte de Barra
Last year was huge for Ireland’s Jordan Bradshaw, as he became Ireland’s most active amateur athlete in 2022.
The 2022 IMMAF World Championships will be Bradshaw’s debut on the World stage after appearing in three events previously. Having previously won bronze at the 2018 European Championships, it was four years before he represented Ireland on the international stage again.
His first outing with the Irish team in 2022 saw him compete in the MMA SuperCup, where he won a silver medal. A few months later, the C-MAC athlete shared gold with teammate Keith Keogh at the EMMAA Four Nations Championships before returning to the IMMAF European Championships in September.
Speaking at the 2022 World Championships media day, Bradshaw shared his excitement to compete at the World Championships.
“I feel like this is the most prestigious one because it’s the World Championships. I feel like the best fighters in the World are coming here to compete with the best. Even the facilities, the arena alone, it’s the biggest one I’ve ever competed in, and I can’t wait to perform.”
His willingness to compete has made Bradshaw comfortable when he steps into the fighting area. This level of activity has allowed him to learn from any mistakes in the amateur ranks while he competes with some of the best in the World, as opposed to making them in the pro ranks.
“I feel like most fighters mentally don’t want to fight, like the whole preparation of getting into the cage is what breaks fighters. And last year, that was a big factor for me going into a fight. I can get into the cage at any moment now that I’m that comfortable, and I’m grateful that I did thirteen fights in twelve months.
“I feel like I improved every single fight. There were fights where I was still making mistakes, and that’s why we come to IMMAF, so we get to compete with the best and make them make mistakes.
“Some people would agree with me, and some people would disagree with me in saying that IMMAF is the best way to prepare for professionals.”
Jordan Bradshaw will make his first World Championships appearance on the opening day of the 2022 IMMAF World Championships, live on IMMAF.tv from the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
