Help is needed to fund dream trip to represent England at MMA for Sutton's Millie-Rae

Sutton's Millie-Rae Vardy has been selected by the English Mixed Martial Arts Association to represent her country at the IMMAF MMA European Championships in Italy from 27th September to 1st October.
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But, with no funding on offer to get her there, the 24-year-old is now hoping to get some sponsorship help with financing the trip to allow her to achieve her dream.

“Representing England at such a prestigious event is an honour for me and being selected for the team is testament to the amount of work I have put into my martial arts career so far,” she said.

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“Going to the tournament and bringing home a medal will only elevate me and my career, not to mention the status of MMA in England and English MMA in Europe.

Millie-Rae Vardy in fight action - she now needs funding.Millie-Rae Vardy in fight action - she now needs funding.
Millie-Rae Vardy in fight action - she now needs funding.

“ I got started in mixed martial arts as I did kickboxing as a child along with many other sports - I was always an outgoing and sporty kid. I loved all sports and could pick up new sports up very easily.

“During the pandemic, I wanted to get back to combat sports as a way to get fit and healthy.

“I fell in love with the sport of MMA and became addicted to bettering myself every day and pushing myself to becoming the best version of me.

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“I started training more and more and knew competing in the sport is something I wanted to do.”

It quickly grew for her from there.

“In July I competed at the inaugural Four Nations MMA competition for England and had the amazing experience of having 'Meatball' Molly McCaan in my corner, who is a professional MMA fighter in the biggest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC,” she said.

“That's the goal, that's the big dream, to one day be fighting in the UFC.

“I know it's possible, I believe in myself and I take this sport very seriously, everything from training to nutrition and recovery.

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“This competition is just the start and I'm going to do everything I can to bring home the gold for England.”

EMMAA are working towards gaining recognised status for MMA with Sport England (http://englishmma.org/emmaa-meet-with-sport-england-to-further-discuss-the-development-of-mixed-martial-arts-and-the-recognition-process).

But until this is achieved and EMMAA is in a position to receive funding, in order for the team to take part in IMMAF events the competitors must self-fund. “For me to compete I must raise funds to pay for my flights, accommodation, medicals and entry fees,” she said.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I am incredibly excited to have been picked for the team.

“Any help anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated and will really help me with realising this dream.”

Mille-Rae has a GoFundMe page if anyone wants to help here at https://gofund.me/a282c7dd.

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