Issue 038

June 2008

Not bad for someone who got into the sport because of a chance comment at home. The thirty-year-old Yorkshireman explains: “When I was 18, I boxed amateur. I was talking to my girlfriend one night about this and she said she’d really like to see me fight in a ring. As it happens, my friend Dave Mangham had just set up Ultimate Force (the Doncaster-based promotion). I asked him to match me up – and that’s how it happened.”

Lacking formal training, Neil relied on his instinct. Less than three years later, he has five wins and a UFC contract. His meteoric rise has drawn some hostile reactions. Wain remains unruffled. “A lot of people are saying I don’t deserve to be there. I understand where they’re coming from, but I’m not phoning the UFC saying ‘pick me, pick me, I’m brilliant’. They’ve come to me.” 

It’s easy to see why Dana gave him the call. ‘Old School’ Wain can bang. Across the North of England, his lethal combination of power and hand speed has left crowds on their feet and busted up fighters on their backs wondering what hit them. You can question the calibre of Neil’s opponents, but not the manner in which he has destroyed them.

He insists that his success is down to the input of his jiu-jitsu and MMA coach, Neil Owen, and his mentor Dave Mangham. This total lack of ego is another reason for his growing popularity. His team all refer to him simply as Wainy, and they can’t mention him without smiling. In this country, we tend to like our sporting heroes bullshit free. Wainy fits the bill. He looks like the bloke you see up the match or down the pub. One of us. 

Neil knows he will be a big underdog when he meets Antoni Hardonk. He was a face in the crowd when the gifted Dutch kickboxer chopped down Colin Robinson in 17 seconds at UFC 80 in Newcastle. Wainy’s team are confident he can take the step up in class and keep his unbeaten record. The man himself has been putting in the hours at the gym like never before and is in the best shape of his life.

He explains his new attitude in his trademark, no nonsense style. “When they phoned – I got my arse in the gym. I’m just a family man, a working guy who can have a good old row and I’m going in there just to do that. I’m both humble and grateful for this opportunity for me and my family. On paper, Hardonk holds all the aces, but I believe I’ve got a chance of winning this.” If he pulls it off Britain will have a new heavyweight hero.