While fighting inside the cage is one of the most difficult challenges anyone can face, coaching presents its own set of unique and complex challenges—especially when it's your wife and son going into battle.
With vast experience competing at the highest level of mixed martial arts, Ben Davis undeniably has the minerals to lead Team Ireland to war at the GAMMA European Championships in Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia, between May 12-19.
However, he must do so with the added pressure of cornering two of the people he loves the most. His wife, Indra, a youth worker who helps underprivileged children, is a seasoned fighter with an Irish GAMMA gold medal and a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu on her resume. Meanwhile, Ben’s 10-year-old son, Mateo, is carving out his own path in the sport. The nationally ranked operator is a natural in both the grappling and striking departments, having recently acquired his yellow belt and taken part in two kickboxing bouts.
Therefore, when the trio arrives in the Eastern European nation, with their daughter, who also fights, cheering them on from cage-side, they’ll aim to produce a series of performances that not only make history for their country but also their family name. And while Ben’s own achievements mean the world to him, nothing would compare to guiding his wife and son to glory.
In an exclusive interview with MMA TV Live, he explained: “Seeing them win would be even better than if I did it myself. I started fighting so I could inspire people and share whatever I learned. She is my blueprint for fighting. She's the epitome of what I do and what I stand for. It’s the same with my son. He's just a bit younger. They’ll both long surpass me.”
Over the years, Indra and Mateo have listened carefully, absorbing everything Ben had to say en route to becoming formidable fighters in their own right.
The Irish coach beamed: “Mateo is a typical second child. He's so competitive; everything is a competition to him, to the point where it actually affects his relationships. His style of grappling is like that of the Ruotolo brothers. He's very much like them. He looks like them too, because he's got the big afro.
“He’s so sporty. My wife was born in Germany, so they both have that German strength. I’m very athletic, and Mateo is a fusion of both our genetics.
“Indra had to put up with me fighting for years. But after she had my daughter, Liliana, she wanted to get fit again. So, I got her into training mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu, and she just got hooked. So here we are. She’s definitely a top tip for getting a medal, if not winning the whole thing.”
And with GAMMA going above and beyond to unlock opportunities for fighters across the world, Ben, who knows the history of combat sports like the back of his hand, is hopeful that the organisation can help the sport he holds so close to his heart, finally take its rightful place on the grandest stage of them all.
Ben asserted: “GAMMA might have a chance of getting MMA into the Olympics. If you had it on TV, lots of people would tune in. No-gi jiu-jitsu should be an Olympic sport too. MMA and jiu-jitsu are arguably the original sports. I study ancient history, and in ancient Greece, you had Pankration, which was basically MMA. Then, you had Roman Greco wrestling. They were two of the first Olympic sports.
“Originally, that came from Egypt in Africa, where they had a celebration, like a festival with sports like wrestling and martial arts, so the Greeks got it from Egypt. You can even see that in Africa today with Sudanese wrestling with the different tribes.”
You can watch the 2024 GAMMA European Championships via the organisation's YouTube and Facebook pages.
