New martial arts academy founded by UFC star opens its doors in Batley

The Diakiese Combat Academy, on Station Road, offers a range of disciplines including grappling, wrestling, MMA, and kickboxing.

It was founded by Marc Diakiese, a successful 33-year-old professional MMA fighter currently competing in the Oktagon MMA, alongside a small team who have worked hard to get the facility ready.

Marc has spent years competing at a professional level, including internationally, and now wants to pass that experience on to the next generation.

Having someone with his background and experience coaching in the local community gives young people the opportunity to learn from someone who has worked extremely hard to get where he is.

Marc has competed at the top level, having fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 15 times on some huge worldwide shows and and he has also competed in the Bellator MMA, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and BAMMA.

His career has seen him compete all over the world, including in the USA, Brazil and Germany as well as the UK.

DCA has recently opened its doors, offering combat sports and fitness training for children, teenagers and adults of all experience levels.

The aim is to create a safe, welcoming environment where people can learn practical skills, improve their fitness and, particularly for younger members, build confidence, discipline and self-belief.

Wioleta Katarzyna Lapinska, director at the academy, explained: “Although combat sports are at the heart of what they do, the aim of DCA is about much more than fighting.

"One of the things that is really important to us is that everyone feels welcome. You don’t have to be the fittest, strongest or most experienced person in the room to walk through our doors.

“We also want DCA to become something that the local community can be proud of. We’ve worked incredibly hard to get the academy open and are excited about building something that can have a genuinely positive impact locally.

"Ultimately, our goal is to build more than just a gym. We want DCA to be a place where people can train, make friends, gain confidence and feel like they belong.

“We’re still very new, so we’re excited to see where it goes. We’ve already had a really positive response from the local community and new people are coming through the doors every week, which has been amazing to see.”