Sheppey MMA fighter Jordan Molinari has achieved his dream of fighting on a Cage Warriors promotion and is now eyeing a place among the elite.

The 31-year-old, nicknamed ‘Slick’, beat Matthew Friel by unanimous decision in Cage Warriors 178 in Manchester last weekend.

Eighteen months ago Molinari, 31, decided to leave his home in Kent and live and train with some top talent, such as Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett at Liverpool’s Next Generation, and that decision has paid off.

He turned pro earlier this year, losing his first fight in February, before bouncing back to win in a Cage Warriors Fighting Championship event.

“The coaching is incredible,” he said. “It’s 100% the best gym in the UK.

“I lost my professional debut, made a few mistakes, but as always it’s lesson learned.

“I got back to the drawing board, worked hard and I’m now one-and-one as a pro.”

Fighting on the Cage Warriors platform - one step down from the crème de la crème of the UFC - came after a successful amateur career, representing England at European and World level and picking up gold and silver medals along the way.

It was while training with England that he spent some time at the gym in Liverpool and he hasn’t looked back. He’s spent the last 18 months at the gym, even working three days a week on reception to help fund his venture.

He said: “Through doing the English MMA stuff I found myself at Next Generation, spending a week there in preparation for the World Championships in Serbia and it was sound. I was like, ‘this is where I need to be’.

“No disrespect to my people back home but, at the age I was at, if I wanted to do anything, if I wanted to really chase the dream and try and achieve something, I’ve got to be at this place.”

He moved up there in April 2023, having spent several years with the Combat Sports Academy in Chatham.

“I paid six months rent and just cracked on,” he said.

“When I first started, my goal was to have the amateur debut but the English stuff came along and that was never in the plan.

“I've still got a text message from a friend on the Island. He said: ‘I remember five years ago when you first started, we were in Layzells (nightclub) and you said your goal was to make Cage Warriors’. He sent me that the day of the (CW) fight.

“It was special and now I’ve achieved what I initially set out for, I’ve got to move the goalposts. I've got to look for something bigger. The next biggest thing is the UFC.

“I like making small goals and building up to them. Otherwise I feel like they’re too far out. The long term was Cage Warriors. That’s ticked off and done. I’ve won that. The promoter was impressed with my performance.

“I’m now expecting a five-fight contract. I just have to keep putting on good performances, keep winning, preferably finishes, no one likes to see a fight drag out but it’s harder in the smaller weight divisions.

“I’m a flyweight, 57kg, so we don’t carry that much power but you can still get finishes, it’s just a bit harder.”

Molinari is sponsored by Swale companies including Kitchen Wraps UK, Signature Pressure Services and Goring Flooring to help keep his MMA dream going. He hopes to be back in action in November - if a slot is available - or more likely in March next year.

Training alongside fighters such as Cage Warriors’ bantamweight champion Liam Gittins is a big help now but he hasn’t forgotten his roots, and where it all began.

He said: “I’ve come up here to better myself and to chase something that I never thought I could have achieved.

“I was a bit of a p***k in school. I wound a lot of people up but I’ll get messages now, people saying ‘fair play you did a complete 180’ and ‘you turned it around’. I love that.

“It just shows that if you do put your head down, you can achieve what you want to achieve.

“I also recommend to kids that are growing up, without much to do, try out Sheppey Fight Academy, whether it’s BJJ, MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, there’s something for everyone. It helped me out because before that I was just living for the weekend.

“I found martial arts and that instilled a bit of discipline and a bit of knowledge. I could never concentrate on anything in school but when I’m doing something hands on and learning like that, I have just excelled. It helped grow me, saved me from a life of nothing.

“I love the Island and I love that I’ve got a lot of people on the Island, but you can get trapped there. To move to Liverpool, come to a city and try and do something big, I’m half proud of myself, and I know people are proud of me too.”