The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN mixed martial artist Kenny Neymour is looking to make the progression to one of the sport’s major promotions.

Neymour, currently training out of Fight Capital Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, recently got his professional MMA licence in Nevada but is still seeking opportunities to book pro fights thus far.

“Right now I’m continuing to work with Skipper Kelp, a top trainer in the fight world, an ex-boxer and coach who has trained many top strikers. It’s a well-known gym, one of the first UFC gyms in Las Vegas, so I have really great coaches out there and it allows me to keep active in the sport,” Neymour said.

The Fight Capital Gym is the first mixed martial arts gym in Nevada and became a popular training destination for MMA practitioners across the world.

Kelp, a former boxing coach at UNLV, added a striking element to the gym and brought in a wide range of characters.

Neymour began his fight career in 2013 training with Dr Kent Bazard and Empire MMA. He made his debut in 2014 and won by knockout in 15 seconds at Real Cage Fighting 29 in Orlando. He followed with a TKO win at Real Cage 27 in Melbourne, Florida.

At Bahamas Open Martial Arts Championship (BOMAC) 1, Neymour made a successful home debut with a second round knockout over Warren Garvy of Jamaica.

Neymour has picked up a kickboxing title and is a jiu-jitsu purple belt consistently training with world-class fighters. He has also trained proficiently in wrestling techniques at Bolt Wrestling Gym in California. “When I left the Bahamas I went to California to train with Kenny Johnson, the co-founder of Bolt Wrestling. He has tons of fighters from all over the world at his Black House MMA Gym, it is a really great gym,” Neymour said.

“Through networking I made some direct ties to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) so I was in and out of Las Vegas, California and the Bahamas training for the last few years, now I’m looking to just get more pro fights under my belt.”

Bolt Wrestling is a special wrestling system designed by Johnson that focuses on all techniques for wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and MMA. Johnson is regarded as the premier wrestling coach in MMA working with the likes of BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo, Alexander Volkov, Antonio Nogueira, Paul Daley, and martial arts legend, Dan Inosanto.

“I got into wrestling as a kid and with some success in that I started looking into jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and eventually MMA so I decided to dedicate myself to the sport and make it a career,” Neymour said.

“I’ve trained in so many gyms over the years all across the United States. I know quite a few people in the fight world, met some really good coaches and got some really good advice. I was preparing for this for a long period of time and I know I’m ready for it, all it takes is for me to get some exposure. In the Bahamas, we have to travel to find these fights and it’s not always easy but now I’m at the point where that opportunity is here and I’m ready to make the most of it.”