Deaf MMA champion Thomas Paull to be in UFC’s “Contender” series
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is famous all over the world for the sport of fighting. To become a UFC fighter is a tough journey.
There have been two deaf UFC fighters: Matt Hamill from USA aka “The Hammer”, who is retired now, and Askar Askarov from Russia aka “Bullet.” Askar is still in the UFC and is currently #2 in his flyweight division.
Now there is a 3rd Deaf person rising up and is aiming to enter the UFC as well. Meet Thomas Paull from London, U.K. known as the “Juggernaut.”
(Full-screen Photos)
He has won championships in two divisions in the U.K. On Instagram, Thomas recently posted publicly calling Dana White, the UFC president, to bring him in the UFC. We will show his video.
(Video description: Thomas is sitting down and the text reads “Deaf MMA fighter sends message to Dana White” then Thomas begins signing “What’s up? I’m here. I am not hiding anywhere. I’m right here. I am waiting for you to call me…no wait, I mean text me.)
Dana saw Thomas’ video and agreed that Thomas should come, but first Thomas has to compete in a show called the “Dana White’s Contender Series.” That show is when the different fighters fight each other to win a contract with the UFC. If Thomas wins in that show, this means Thomas wins a contract with UFC and that will make him the third Deaf UFC fighter.
We reached out to Thomas for an interview to explain about his experience and what his goal is in the show’s competition. Just to let you know, he is currently in Thailand for training. We were 12 hours different. We communicated with International Sign.
(Begin interview)
Renca: I saw your video that you challenged Dana White to have you in the UFC- he did respond, so now what is next?
Thomas: Just to be clear, yes he did respond, but it was not a direct invitation. What he did instead was that he offered me to challenge other contenders in his TV show called “Dana White’s Contender Series.” This means if you want to be in the UFC then you need to fight to show what your abilities are and to see if you win then they will offer you a contract with the UFC. If you struggle then maybe you can get another chance or can be eliminated. Soon, this summer, I will be fighting for him! I’m ready and it’s time for me to shine.
Renca: Wow! Well, do you feel ready? Or do you feel nervous?
Thomas: Well, it’s the same thing for every fight- you need to treat each fight like it is your championship. See where I am now? I am here in Thailand for training. This means I am ready.
Renca: Yeah.. Now I want to know a little more about you. Did you grow up fighting? With MMA? Or did you just think to join this like one year ago or two years ago? What made you want to join the MMA and make it part of your life?
Thomas: My life- well, growing up, I have always liked to fight. If I see a fight break out, I always want to join. I do like to be physical, not the easy type, but the rough ones. Or I do like to challenge myself with older people. Also, I was part of the soccer team. My family loves soccer. I played soccer growing up, but it was not much of a physical sport for me. So, I switched to rugby.
Renca: Oh more physical for sure!
Thomas: Yes, more physical. I was part of the rugby team for 5 years, but it is hard for one Deaf person to thrive as an individual athlete (in a hearing team) because rugby is a team sport. The hearing team always ignores or sets aside me as a Deaf person. I am good at rugby, but I felt that I reached my peak. So, I switched to MMA when I was between 18 to 19 years old. I started my training. My first MMA fight was when I was 19 years old. I stopped at the age of 20 because of work. I took different paths. About 5 years ago, I finally set myself on track again and focused on MMA only. It’s been good. I am from the U.K. which is part of Europe. There has been no Deaf person ever from Europe that entered the UFC. Therefore, I want to be the first Deaf, from Europe to enter the UFC. I want my name up there. I will fight anyone who is in front of me.
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Renca: I saw your video that you were wearing those small, dark rimmed, sunglasses – that’s like your trademark. Why?
Thomas: Haha yes. There is a famous man named Charles Bronson. He is a famous man from England. He is one of the most notorious prisoners. He always wears his iconic sunglasses with his mustache. That’s it. Simple. He’s bald too. When he is set loose, he always fights with other people in prison or against the police. He is violent. So, I copied his look for Halloween. I realized that I looked good! I thought to myself, hey this look could be for the MMA- bringing in a character. If I come in “plain” then people will not pay attention and forget Thomas. No. What should I do? I brought in that “Charles” look and people were blown away. They now know me and remember me with that look. That is my trademark.
Renca: Do you have any last words that you would like to share with the Deaf community who is watching? Perhaps there are young adults who would be interested in MMA like you or any thoughts that you’d like to share with us?
Thomas: One thing I’d like to share is yes, life is hard. Simple as that. You cannot have everything easy in life. If you have an easy life then you will lead a normal, plain life. If you want more in your life then you will need to accept to go through hard times. With your dreams, don’t try to avoid or divert away- keep going straight to your dream. Like me right now for example- my dream is the UFC so I am here in Thailand as a stepping stone to my dream. Find a way to get to your dream. Find a way.
(End interview)
Renca: Wow! Thank you Thomas for your time. You can follow and support his journey on Instagram- we included the link to his profile in this transcript. We, the Daily Moth, wish you the best of luck and we hope for good results!
https://www.instagram.com/thomas_paullmma/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h94MIP2K44Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH-4zxJUnQo
https://www.lowkickmma.com/thomas-paull-deaf-mma-fighter-ufc-shot-mcregor/