A dying man’s words served as a reality check for Paul Elliott, which led him to martial arts

ONE Championship newcomer Paul Elliott is on a dominant run that makes it look like he was born to do what he’s doing. However, that hasn’t always been the case for the 29-year-old Middlesbrough, England native.

In a recent interview, ‘The King of the North’ shared a time when he looked to do something different with his life:

“I stepped away from the combat side of things and studied for three years. All I would do is go off to college, and then go to the gym and lift weights.”

One day, he saw an older gentleman named Paul, who went to all of his fights, training in the gym with a trolley of medical supplies beside him. It was then that he found out Paul had stomach cancer:

“I always talked to him, explaining to him what I study, and then he said the doctors told him that he had six weeks to live. He said to me, raising his voice as well, ‘What on earth are you doing? Stop lifting all the weights. Go back to your fighting, something that you're good at.’”

It was a painful dose of reality seeing his friend go through something like that, but it helped re-ignite Paul Elliott's passion for combat sports:

“The fact that he said that to me and in the situation that he was in, it meant a lot to him. It was a kick in the [butt], and the light bulb came on. I put myself back to work in the situation where I should have been all along. That was probably November time. So I changed the whole training plan, put a new fight plan together, and then I fought that January. That was 2017 and since then, I've not been beaten.”

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Paul Elliott to make his promotional debut at ONE: Only the Brave

Paul Elliott will step into his first match on the global stage against veteran Anderson Silva at ONE: Only the Brave, which will be broadcast live on Friday, January 28.

Paul Elliot has won all four of his bouts as a professional with a first-round knockout. He will look to prove that he’s the real deal by doing the same against a world-class opponent in Silva.

Meanwhile, ‘Braddock’ is a well-decorated kickboxer who is looking for his maiden MMA victory in ONE Championship.

These two heavyweights will no doubt put on a striking clinic, and with their heavy hands and feet, it might not even go the distance.