“Paul sees what you’re good at and then they’ll work on that,” he said. “That’s what’s so good about this gym. We haven’t just got one identity. We’re not just one person. I mean, a lot of people, a lot of other gyms, they’ve just got this style, that’s it. There you go. In here, what you’re good at, we’ll work on.”
As far as what’s ahead for Next Generation MMA, Rimmer desires to coach a fighter to a UFC title, and Pimblett and McCann are keen on helping him achieve that goal. It’s still early days for their journeys to gold, but their current run of form bodes well.
More than that, though, Rimmer hopes to put his athletes on a path where they can find longevity within the MMA world.
“The impact I hope I’ve had on them is putting them in a position where they change lives and do what they want to do like I am,” he said. “I hope I help them build a career in MMA, which not a lot of people do. People tend to have a fight career in MMA, but I’m hoping that Paddy and Molly will have a career in MMA, whether that’s presenting to coaching, whatever that is. I hope I’ve have helped them get to a position where not only are they exceptional fighters, but also the personalities that people want to be around.”
Hampson and Ventre are two examples of that intention as former fighters who have turned into sharp coaches and cornermen.
Altogether, the gym stands as a strong pillar in both Liverpool’s community, as well as England’s mixed martial arts community. The breakthrough and ascent is always an exhilarating part of the journey, but it was one that was hard won and built on many, many years of trial, error and effort. With more eyeballs on them than ever, Next Generation MMA hopes to continue to provide all the help it can in shaping the future of English MMA.
“I just feel like the legacy for this gym is it doesn’t stop with me and Paddy. It starts with me and Paddy,” McCann said. “The systems that Paul and Ellis and Adam have made, the coaching style and philosophy they’ve got, they got it right with us and they got it wrong with us, but what they did do is they learned from us and our performances and our fights. They will leave this city better than when they came into it.”
