Dundalk fighter Shea Leathem set for pro MMA debut in Belfast

Dundalk MMA fighter, Shea Leathem, steps into the professional ranks on Saturday, 21st March, when he makes his MMA professional debut at Clan Wars 54 in the Newforge Sports Complex in Belfast, against Kyle Paton in a welterweight bout.

The Sanda Mixed Martial Arts Dundalk fighter is supported by a strong network of local sponsors and will represent the town at one of Ireland’s most established MMA stages.

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The fight represents the culmination of more than a decade of dedication and progression through the amateur ranks for the 24-year-old.

Yet, despite the scale of the occasion, his road to professional mixed martial arts was never laid out in advance. Instead, it began with reluctance.

Nicknamed “Lethal”, Shea started training at age 11 at his father’s advice, and he was more concerned with learning how to defend himself than pursuing any long-term sporting ambition.

He told the Dundalk Democrat: “I started back when I was 11 years of age, and particularly, I didn’t want to do it.

“I wasn’t really that type of kid who liked to get into any type of conflict, but my dad said that I needed to learn how to defend myself for going to secondary school.

“So that is the main reason why I was put into it, and to say that I am a professional now is just kind of mind-blowing for something I didn’t even want to do.

“I remember the first day that my dad took me there, I told him saying that I would train, but I would never fight. Back then, I would have never thought that I would be a professional fighter, that just seemed so far beyond me, but now.

“Now I am going professional come March 21st after 13 years, which is crazy, but I’m happy to do it – I completely love this sport with all my heart.

“I’ve got so much passion for it now compared to when I started. It wasn’t even an idea in my head so it’s great.”

Thirteen years later, he is preparing for his professional debut on the Clan Wars stage, and carries with him an amateur record of 7–7.

The Dundalkman's move into the professional ranks is closely tied to where he comes from, and representing the town remains central to his motivation.

“To be able to represent Dundalk is an honour to say it because Dundalk is my home, I have been here my whole life.

“I know the ins and outs of Dundalk to be able to represent it and help bring the name of Dundalk up with me in the MMA scene is an honour because I am proud of where I come from, and it has made me who I am today.

“So, to represent it especially on a stage like Clan Wars, one of the best organisations in Ireland – it's truly an honour for me.”

MMA

Before transitioning fully into mixed martial arts, Leathem enjoyed success in kickboxing. Titles followed, and so did options. Yet MMA always remained his priority.

For him, it was not simply a career choice, but the discipline that best suited how he learned and competed.

“Mixed martial arts is the ultimate goal for me because you know it's the only thing I've ever really been good at. It's the only thing my brain has adapted to a new style of learning in anything like school and stuff like that.

“But this is just something I absolutely love, and for it to be now a profession of mine, it just makes me think that I've come a long way, an awfully long way.

“It's the ultimate goal because I see myself going far in this. This is something I want to do down the line. I want to be going to the UFC. That's just my ultimate goal, making it to the UFC and becoming a champion  there.”

(Shea getting the better of his opponent)

Learning

Leathem rarely turned down challenges and was encouraged early on to test himself against the strongest available competition. As a result, his 7–7 amateur record tells only part of the story.

“Having a 7-7 record to me is not the most appealing-looking record. Let me tell you this, I would rather much prefer to be 14 and 0.

“But I feel like I've been through a hard journey at the amateurs because I never say no to a fight I want to fight the best - my coach drilled it in me from the start.

“To be the best, you have to beat the best. You have to fight the best. It's in that sense that I feel like it's the only way to get the best experience, to always put yourself at that highest level.

“And if you fall, you fall, but ultimately you learn from it. So it's seven wins, seven losses, but those losses, they made me learn so much more about the game and about myself.

“I've went on losing streaks and stuff like that, but I've always came back. So it just shows the amount of resilience that I have kind of gained over just not wanting to quit. I just can't quit. I don't have it in me.”

(Shea (right) with his sponsors Oak Gym)

Amateur

His amateur career concluded with a significant milestone when he became Clan Wars welterweight champion, the same organisation where he made his debut.

“To leave the amateurs as a Clan Wars welterweight champion, it's pretty huge because I started my career and made my amateur debut on Clan Wars.

“And I will always remember after that day, I made a goal for myself that I will be a Clan Wars champion. It's just been in my head since after that first win on Clan Wars.

“I just knew I wanted to be a champion for that organisation because they've had some great fighters from the past also be champions of that organisation.

“So to be a part of that group is  something special to me, but I know I have a long road ahead, but I have ultimate confidence in going into the pro ranks after becoming a champion for Clan Wars.”

(Shea (centre) at sponsor Mo Chara)

Pro

According to Leathem, the transition to professional status has been more formal than psychological. Under coach Darren Sonik, he has been trained with professional standards from a young age.

“I get what you mean about the pressure of turning pro, but realistically, my coach 'Daz' (Darren Sonik) has always kind of drilled it into me from when I was a kid, that we're not training to be the best amateur, we're training to be the best professional.

“He's always trained me in a professional way, and always kept my mindset. I was thinking like a professional, so I feel like I've already been in that professional mindset.

“It's just now I am officially going into the pro ranks, so it's nothing new to me. I've adapted to feeling professional my whole career.

“I've been in massive fights ever since I started, so the pressure's nothing new to me, so it just makes me want to go harder knowing that there's a new stepping stone for me, and I just want to prove myself.”

(Upgrade Barbers are also sponsors of Shea)

Support

Local sponsorship has played an important role in sustaining his career, with many of those backing him having known him since childhood.

“To have local support means the absolute world to me because the people that have sponsored me have actually watched me growing from a kid into the man I am today, and they've grown with me on the journey itself.

“Even though they've probably never sponsored me before, but sponsoring me now, they've known me, they've known my career since I was a kid.

“They've always been asking me how the fighting is going, how is training and stuff like that, so it means the absolute world to me to have these guys sponsor me.

“These are places I've been in and out from for years now, for like nearly decades, so it means the world to me. Mo Chara is one of the best pubs in town. Upgrade Barbers are my personal barbers from when I was like 15 or 16.

“Oak Gym - I've gone to Oak Gym since I was a kid, and I know Darren (Donnelly) very well. He's watched me grow up as well. Boca Grande,  I'm not saying this to be biased, but Boca Grande have the best burritos in town.

“I've been going to Boca Grande ever since I started, and to have them sponsor me is really great because I love burritos and they're definitely are the best in Dundalk.

“And then obviously the industrial sponsors, which are TP Veneer, Inniskeen Joinery Works, and BM Transport.

“These are connections of my father, and they've always, whenever they talk to my dad, they always ask me about how I'm doing in my fighting and all that. So to have them all sponsoring me, every sponsor, it means the world.”

(Shea with sponsors Boca Grande)

Mindset

Despite his measured personality outside the cage, Leathem adopts a more uncompromising tone when discussing competition.

“The mindset is, it's clear, it's sharp, but clear, it's kill or be killed. I'm going in there to absolutely annihilate this guy. Like, this is what my training has led up to.

“I'm training to be a savage, and I'm going to be a savage when I am in that cage. That's the mindset I feel like you should only have whenever you're in a fight because it's a fight.

“People are going in there to hurt you, so you have to be able to give the hurting back. So, the mindset is kill or be killed.”

Future

Looking ahead, Leathem’s objectives are clear: establish himself on the regional circuit, progress to Cage Warriors, and ultimately reach the UFC.

“So looking beyond the debut is obviously get a couple of wins at the regional scene and then hopefully get picked up by Cage Warriors.

“I've always wanted to go on to Cage Warriors and become a champion for them, and then after becoming a champion for them, I want to make it to the UFC.

“Whether it's through The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) or Dana White's Contender Series, or just getting signed after winning the Cage Warriors belt would be absolutely perfect.

“Then obviously working my way up to becoming a UFC champion. Being the UFC champion has always been the ultimate goal for me.

“It's just been the destination of our journey, so that's it pretty much mapped out. I've had it mapped out like that since I'm a young teenager, so that is the journey for me.”