When you think of sports in the Highlands, the first thought that springs to mind are the Highland Games. The caber toss, where a shorn tree trunk is hurled into the air or the stone put, an ancestor of the shot put. Despite evidence that the original Highland games – which demanded the attendees bring a “sword, gun, pistol and dirk” – included contests of arms, combat sports have never had a traditionally big following in the Highlands. The promoter behind the brand new Braveheart FC promotion, Lewis Simpson, wishes to change that.
“Starting my own MMA promotion has always been something that’s been in the back of my mind, I just didn’t know how to go about things,” says Simpson.