Pan Am champ heads to MMA fight in Bahamas

Matthew Colquhoun will head to his professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight in The Bahamas oozing confidence, following a gold-

medal performance at the Pan American Rambo and Combat Sambo Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, late last month.

Colquhoun is now preparing for his next assignment, which is 'The Strikers Quest' in the welterweight division on Friday, where he fights Emre Orun from Turkey. The 24-year-old fighter will depart today.

Looking back, Colquhoun said that he fought through pain to win his first gold medal at the Pan Am Championship in the 82kg class, after he won a silver medal on debut back in 2014.

FIRSTPUNCH

"The first punch I threw in the tournament, I threw a stiff left hand to the face of Brazil's Yuri Turchetto and my hand got swollen. I had to fight the entire tournament with a fractured hand and I pulled it off," Colquhoun told The Gleaner yesterday.

"I injured my hand in the first fight, which resulted in a hairline fracture and I fought through pain. I did not want to give up because I trained hard and was determined to win the title. I am feeling good having to put mind over body," he explained.

The Jamaican fighter says he hopes that bringing home a second title in four years will help the Jamaica Sports and Combat Sambo Federation to get the recognition and support it so desperately needs.

"We would like more funding as we were not able to carry everybody. Imran Hall was the only other representative and he lost in the 68kg class semi-finals," he shared.

"It means a lot to me but also to the federation that I got the gold to show that we are a force to be reckoned with even though we don't get a lot of support from the Government or corporate Jamaica. With the little that we have, we are still able to push and compete against more developed countries, compete against them and strive to medal," said Colquhoun, who also won two silver medals from the 2015 and 2016 Pan Am Championship."