A towering figure wearing nothing but tiny black shorts, a black hood and a menacing expression, stepped out from a cloud of smoke and punched the air.

The crowd cheered as Dave Swan, from Team Extreme in London, entered the ring and then fell silent, eagerly awaiting his opponent. Roger Woodward, from UK Storm in Dudley, bounded into the ring like an enthusiastic puppy, with a grin on his face and the Sex Pistols blaring in the background.

Even at first glance, the pair looked strangely mismatched. Although roughly the same weight ? both under 70kgs and therefore fighting as lightweights ? Swan, sporting a shaved head and tattoos, looked bigger. Woodward was skinny with a ponytail.

Helen Gabriel ignores the hype and goes to Birmingham's first MMA event to see the sport in action

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