INTERVIEW WITH GEMMEL HAINES
Published February 2014
Apart from possibly having the longest name in Mixed Martial Arts if not the world I know nothing about this fighter.
Despite our Lou Lou having mentioned him before I still know nothing about him.
Then I find out he trained at the same
club as my son I have come to the conclusion I am the only person in
Medway if not the South East who knows nothing about him.
I should probably get out more but in the mean time I will read this great interview by Lou Lou.
Name: Gemmel Benjamin Lloyd Haines
Age: 27
Location: Rochester Kent
Trains: Dragonz Lair MMA
Gemmel Benjamin LLoyd Haines is 27 (but jokingly says he feel's more like 47 !)
He
live's in Rochester Kent along with his '2 beautiful ladies', one being
his lovely partner Charlotte and the other being their gorgeous 2 year
old daughter Jaicee. He also has a 7 yr old son , Jarell who looks
just like him, and Gemmel is quick to point out where the good looks
obviously came from lol :)
For
the past year Gemmel has been working for a company called 'Caring
Choice'.Caring Choice provides support and care for people
affected/disabled by Autisim.
He
says Caring Choice are not only top care providers but they are also
top employers. Working in an environment addressing the needs of people
with Autisim will always be challenging, (I have an autistic son myself
so know just how 'trying' it can be) but Gemmel says it is the most
rewarding job he has ever done and he couldn't really imagine himself
doing anything else.
As
a child Gemmel tried a few different combat sports including Karate,
Judo and Boxing. He excelled at Judo and entered several competitions.
The first one was when he was 9 years old and he remembers it like it
was yesterday . He said he was so so nervous that he actually
'Chundered' in the toilet before the fight !! After being sick he
managed to fight his way through 4 elimination bouts and made it to the
final. He didn't win the final, but says it was a great e
xperience (
apart from the peuking bit !!) doing so well at his first competition.
Gemmel
says he didn't really train properly/seriously until quite recently
when he joined Dragonz Lair M.M.A. He tries to get into the gym to train
about 4 times a week and is now being put through his paces by Matt
Newton who is coaching him. He says he has a lot of respect for Matt and
that not only is he a top bloke to work with, but he's a top bloke full
stop. It sounds wicked only mistake is where I lost. I won on Glory in
July n lost on Heat in December.
Had
he not made a school boy error in his last fight he would have had a
2-0-0 semi/pro record but he did make the mistake and he paid the price
so his semi/pro record is 1-1-0 with his amateur record at 4-2-0 pretty
healthy stats :)
Gemmels first semi pro fight, which he won, was at a Zoo Fight Clubs event called 'Glory' (which coincidentally was the first show that i went to as
part of Cage Amateurs UK !). He recently fought on 'Heat' (December)and says it was a well put together show, but a shame he didn't win
lol.
He then went on to explain that although he is comfortable all round he has been told that he has an 'odd/elusive' stand up stance and it makes
it awkward for people to hit him (Sounds a good thing to me. Jon P).
Well I don't know about odd or elusive but in 2 fights he's only actually got hit in the head once so he must have something that's stopping the
head shots getting through !!!
Gemmel's
next fight is on 15th March back at the Zoo Fight Club Show which is
being held at the Azure Marina Club in Hastings this time up against
Brett Cole.
Gemmel
has heard all the usual stuff about Brett Cole, lets face it, it is
common knowledge what people think/know about him, including the alleged
missing ticket monies, the 'pull outs' and 'no shows' the way he gives
it large with his big ego (and mouth to match) to be sure he is
ultimately the king of the keyboard warriors. But I do have to admit he
can take a good punch, and give some back assuming he does of course
turn up in the first place.
Only time will tell but
you can see for yourself by grabbing tickets for this great show run by Paul Saunders.
(In
the meantime you can see him fight in a recording from FURY M.M.A. 6 show
at Proud 2 nightclub in London's O2 against Max 'Power' Nunes and
filmed by Cage Amateurs. To keep a balance it must be said he stepped in
at the last moment against Max and was well out of his league Click here for the fight. Jon P)
Gemmel has a personal message for Brett 'You
wanted me to fight you and I have even moved up to Light Heavy Weight
to do it. So Brett be ready 4 this fight it won't be an easy fight for
you ! I know you have said to people you are gonna walk through me.
That is NOT gonna happen and we both
know that. I'm gonna be a lot stronger, quicker, more powerful and
certainly more aggressive than what you remember. Let's just have a good
fight and shake hands after then we can Bury this on going issue
between us.'
Well
that done with I asked Gemmel where he wanted to be in 12 months time,
personally, and MMA wise, and was there anyone he fancied calling out,
and other bits and bobs, and this is a round up.....
Given
that he's relatively new to the circuit he hasn't really had a good
look round to see who he fancies fighting and he doesn't know many
names. But after a few more fights he's sure everyone will know his.(I
like it Gemmel, I like it!!!)
In
the next twelve months tops he told me he would hope to/like to/want to
get a shot at one of the vacant Zoo Fight Club "Glory MMA" titles (he's
wanting to start a belt collection already i think !)
In
the mean time he's happy to fight at 77kg, 84kg or 92kg and just wants
the chance to go for it and wishes this fight with Brett Cole was 
a
title shot ( So do i Gemmel so do I.)
With
regards his personal/home life he said he doesn't want anything to
change because he is totally happy with home/family/job as it is. In
fact his employers at Caring Choice have become his sponsor which he is
extremely grateful for but if anyone else wants to as well please feel
free :).
When it comes to Facebook his only use of it is to be nosey, and have a laugh and not for reasons to do with MMA.
Surprisingly
he said he hadn't thought of using it too look for sponsorship, or
looking at any opponents pages ..... Hmmmm might be something to look at
doing in the future lol (Agreed Jon P).
Finally
as we always like to do at the end of an interview I asked him if there
anyone he wanted to say thank you to for whatever reason he wanted to.
He
said My mum supports me, she comes 2 watch my fights although she gets
in a proper nervous mess. During the morning of my first fight at semi
pro she was crying and asking me to pull out of the fight. Ha ha bless
her. Love you mum.xxxxxx
My
Mrs supports me in the ways of getting me mentally ready and she keeps
me calm focused and relaxed. So thank you Charlotte, I don't tell you
enough how much I appreciate what u do for me xxxxx. I love u lots xxx.
My cousins and friends are just jokerz ,they just get me totally pumped but they know i am grateful for their support :)
Oi
Oi It's finished :) LOL ...Gemmel, It's been a pleasure having a
little nose into your life :) Thanks for being open and honest and good
luck at Glory :) xxx
So
there we have it thanks Gemmel for an excellent in depth interview and
well done Lou Lou nice one. Here are few links to one thing or another
mentioned in this interview. Jon P
