News Item: : Colin "The Gift" McKee
(Category: Misc)
Posted by Cornbread
Sunday 20 June 2010 - 23:39:19
Last year, (2009) I had the opportunity to meet a very unique fighter, Colin Mckee. Unique in a very pleasant way, Colin possesses qualities which are becoming quite rare among those in his chosen career. By his demeanor; always friendly, never boastful, and never self-absorbed, I wouldn’t have guessed him to be a professional fighter. Let alone a professional MMA fighter with an impressive, upward record. Colin Mckee hails from Belfast, Ireland. Born and raised. He is from a working class family, his mother is a nurse and his father a builder by trade. By this life, Colin was shown the virtues of hard, honest work from an early age. And it was his Father, with an interest for traditional boxing that first introduced Colin to pugilistic sports.
“My Father was a judge for local boxing shows. He had friends and such in that circle and that is how I got started (in boxing).” Stated Mckee. At age 8, Colin’s Father enrolled his son in a local boxing gym. It was small, poorly funded, and lacked any big or famous names that either taught or trained there. Although lacking the pedigree of other gyms in the area, it did serve as a stepping stone for Colin and spurred an interest in fighting. After attending for nearly two years, Colin switched focus, desiring to learn a more traditional martial art. Tae Kwon Do was to be the next stop for Colin and again he trained diligently for two years. Although he admittedly never developed a true love for TKD, Colin persisted in his education. Around the time Colin turned 15, a new craze was sweeping the internet in Ireland. It was 1999 and the biggest MMA promotion company in the world, The UFC, was flexing its muscles. Even though the UFC wasn’t broadcast on Irish Television, it was available as streaming video. Video that caught Colin’s eye. Some famous names were listed by Colin; Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, Tito Ortiz, and their fighting exploits lit a fire under young Colin Mckee. A night out with friends in Belfast created a chance encounter that would change Colin’s life. A man named Andrew Burrows, a bouncer at a local club, overheard the boys talking about seeing internet video of the UFC. Burrows introduced himself and recommended they try visiting a local gym that taught MMA, Chumsut Gym.
Colin wasted no time and that very week he was enrolled at Chumsut. Taking to the structured environment almost immediately, Colin felt he was finding his place. He trained hard and at the age of 18 began taking his first amateur fights. After two fights and two wins, Mckee was on a roll. With merely one week notice, he accepted his first professional MMA fight. The event was held in Ede Holland and Colin faced Oktay Karatas, a well known Turkish kick boxer, at 185lbs. Colin’s first professional fight went to the final bell, handing Mckee his first loss, albeit by split decision. This first outing Colin that he had the ability to match a professional MMA fighter and go the distance. Colin took the defeat as a learning experience and trained harder. His regime consisted of a strict 4 hour a day program for 5 days a week. His friend and manager from Chumsut Gym, Patrick ‘Paddy’ Mooney placed Colin into more professional bouts to gain experience for the budding fighter. It was then that Colin had earned his place fighting on the card of the widely popular European MMA Promotion company, Cage Wars. Roemer Trumpert was to be Colin’s first opponent at Cage Wars in April 2007. Again the fight went to the final bell,. Again, Colin was handed a loss by decision. “After the fight with Roemer, I knew I had to ‘get’ Jiu-Jitsu.” Stated Colin. Gracie Barra became his new home gym with a heavy emphasis on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After a rigorous 6 month education in BJJ under Graham Keyes (a BJJ Brown Belt under Mauricio Gomes) Colin was ready to take his next fight at Cage Wars in October 2007. This time Colin was set to face American fighter James Orso of Port City MMA in Mobile Alabama. Port City MMA is owned by Jimmy ‘Cornbread’ Mills, a middleweight fighter with a strong record both in America and in Europe. Colin secures the Orso fight with a win by TKO in the 2nd round by strikes. Although the opposition to one of his fighters, Colin begins a friendship Jimmy Mills who has become a fighter for Cage Wars himself. And in May of 2008, Jimmy helps Colin to his first fight in the USA, at XTC 4. Colin dominates his opponent and local favorite, Todd Literman with a 1st round standing guillotine choke. After a short lived celebration, Colin returns to Ireland and to his training. He fights again for Cage Wars in March of 2009 with a win over Arunas Klicius in the 1st round due to strikes. Colin maintains his winning record in the USA with an entrance into a local venue and into the NLE (No Love Entertainment) series, produced by UFC Veteran Rich Clementi. Three fights, three victories in just five months time. Colin stayed in the US during this period and trained at Port City MMA under the direction of Jimmy Mills and the training paid dividends for Mckee. After the third fight of his trip, he returned home to Ireland and to Cage Wars, finding another win on November 29th 2009, merely 22 days after his last victory in the US. That was six consecutive wins, all in the first round for Mckee.
In 2010 Mckee returned to the USA. February 6th he faced James ‘Razor’ Sharp from Remix MMA, owned by UFC Veteran Alan ‘The Talent Belcher. The fight goes to the third round but Colin secures the win by submission at the 57sec mark. Colin considers Port City a “Proper MMA gym that is well rounded” He also had nothing but good things to say for Jimmy ‘Cornbread’ Mills, including “Jimmy is an excellent coach and friend.” Attempting to ‘set down roots’ here in the US, Colin now has an apartment in a quiet area just minutes from his training. He has a girlfriend here in the United States as well. Life consists of “Training, training and spending time with my friends.” Says Colin. Lyle Henley pushes Colin through his strength and conditioning program at The Athlete Factory. Johnny Smith of Smith Boxing handles Colin’s hands and Jimmy Mills is his coach in all other training aspects.
In closing I asked Mckee to sum up his current place in fighting and in life. He left me with this, “In America, I find the atmosphere to be the best part. As far as fighting goes, I know what works for me. Most importantly, I know what I need to work on. Long-term, I’m going to stay in this (fighting) for awhile. See where it goes.” I see Colin Mckee as living up to his nickname. He has a ‘Gift’ for both fighting and for humility.
Aaron J. Haycraft
TheFightJudge
This news item is from Port City MMA
( http://portcitymma.com/news.php?extend.46 )
(Category: Misc)
Posted by Cornbread
Sunday 20 June 2010 - 23:39:19
Colin 'The Gift' Mckee
Last year, (2009) I had the opportunity to meet a very unique fighter, Colin Mckee. Unique in a very pleasant way, Colin possesses qualities which are becoming quite rare among those in his chosen career. By his demeanor; always friendly, never boastful, and never self-absorbed, I wouldn’t have guessed him to be a professional fighter. Let alone a professional MMA fighter with an impressive, upward record. Colin Mckee hails from Belfast, Ireland. Born and raised. He is from a working class family, his mother is a nurse and his father a builder by trade. By this life, Colin was shown the virtues of hard, honest work from an early age. And it was his Father, with an interest for traditional boxing that first introduced Colin to pugilistic sports.
“My Father was a judge for local boxing shows. He had friends and such in that circle and that is how I got started (in boxing).” Stated Mckee. At age 8, Colin’s Father enrolled his son in a local boxing gym. It was small, poorly funded, and lacked any big or famous names that either taught or trained there. Although lacking the pedigree of other gyms in the area, it did serve as a stepping stone for Colin and spurred an interest in fighting. After attending for nearly two years, Colin switched focus, desiring to learn a more traditional martial art. Tae Kwon Do was to be the next stop for Colin and again he trained diligently for two years. Although he admittedly never developed a true love for TKD, Colin persisted in his education. Around the time Colin turned 15, a new craze was sweeping the internet in Ireland. It was 1999 and the biggest MMA promotion company in the world, The UFC, was flexing its muscles. Even though the UFC wasn’t broadcast on Irish Television, it was available as streaming video. Video that caught Colin’s eye. Some famous names were listed by Colin; Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, Tito Ortiz, and their fighting exploits lit a fire under young Colin Mckee. A night out with friends in Belfast created a chance encounter that would change Colin’s life. A man named Andrew Burrows, a bouncer at a local club, overheard the boys talking about seeing internet video of the UFC. Burrows introduced himself and recommended they try visiting a local gym that taught MMA, Chumsut Gym.
Colin wasted no time and that very week he was enrolled at Chumsut. Taking to the structured environment almost immediately, Colin felt he was finding his place. He trained hard and at the age of 18 began taking his first amateur fights. After two fights and two wins, Mckee was on a roll. With merely one week notice, he accepted his first professional MMA fight. The event was held in Ede Holland and Colin faced Oktay Karatas, a well known Turkish kick boxer, at 185lbs. Colin’s first professional fight went to the final bell, handing Mckee his first loss, albeit by split decision. This first outing Colin that he had the ability to match a professional MMA fighter and go the distance. Colin took the defeat as a learning experience and trained harder. His regime consisted of a strict 4 hour a day program for 5 days a week. His friend and manager from Chumsut Gym, Patrick ‘Paddy’ Mooney placed Colin into more professional bouts to gain experience for the budding fighter. It was then that Colin had earned his place fighting on the card of the widely popular European MMA Promotion company, Cage Wars. Roemer Trumpert was to be Colin’s first opponent at Cage Wars in April 2007. Again the fight went to the final bell,. Again, Colin was handed a loss by decision. “After the fight with Roemer, I knew I had to ‘get’ Jiu-Jitsu.” Stated Colin. Gracie Barra became his new home gym with a heavy emphasis on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After a rigorous 6 month education in BJJ under Graham Keyes (a BJJ Brown Belt under Mauricio Gomes) Colin was ready to take his next fight at Cage Wars in October 2007. This time Colin was set to face American fighter James Orso of Port City MMA in Mobile Alabama. Port City MMA is owned by Jimmy ‘Cornbread’ Mills, a middleweight fighter with a strong record both in America and in Europe. Colin secures the Orso fight with a win by TKO in the 2nd round by strikes. Although the opposition to one of his fighters, Colin begins a friendship Jimmy Mills who has become a fighter for Cage Wars himself. And in May of 2008, Jimmy helps Colin to his first fight in the USA, at XTC 4. Colin dominates his opponent and local favorite, Todd Literman with a 1st round standing guillotine choke. After a short lived celebration, Colin returns to Ireland and to his training. He fights again for Cage Wars in March of 2009 with a win over Arunas Klicius in the 1st round due to strikes. Colin maintains his winning record in the USA with an entrance into a local venue and into the NLE (No Love Entertainment) series, produced by UFC Veteran Rich Clementi. Three fights, three victories in just five months time. Colin stayed in the US during this period and trained at Port City MMA under the direction of Jimmy Mills and the training paid dividends for Mckee. After the third fight of his trip, he returned home to Ireland and to Cage Wars, finding another win on November 29th 2009, merely 22 days after his last victory in the US. That was six consecutive wins, all in the first round for Mckee.
In 2010 Mckee returned to the USA. February 6th he faced James ‘Razor’ Sharp from Remix MMA, owned by UFC Veteran Alan ‘The Talent Belcher. The fight goes to the third round but Colin secures the win by submission at the 57sec mark. Colin considers Port City a “Proper MMA gym that is well rounded” He also had nothing but good things to say for Jimmy ‘Cornbread’ Mills, including “Jimmy is an excellent coach and friend.” Attempting to ‘set down roots’ here in the US, Colin now has an apartment in a quiet area just minutes from his training. He has a girlfriend here in the United States as well. Life consists of “Training, training and spending time with my friends.” Says Colin. Lyle Henley pushes Colin through his strength and conditioning program at The Athlete Factory. Johnny Smith of Smith Boxing handles Colin’s hands and Jimmy Mills is his coach in all other training aspects.
In closing I asked Mckee to sum up his current place in fighting and in life. He left me with this, “In America, I find the atmosphere to be the best part. As far as fighting goes, I know what works for me. Most importantly, I know what I need to work on. Long-term, I’m going to stay in this (fighting) for awhile. See where it goes.” I see Colin Mckee as living up to his nickname. He has a ‘Gift’ for both fighting and for humility.
Aaron J. Haycraft
TheFightJudge
This news item is from Port City MMA
( http://portcitymma.com/news.php?extend.46 )