Terrifying Bully Ordeal Turned Reece Into a Champion Cage Fighter
Published: September 6, 2024
THE big would-be hardman menacingly points a finger into the chest of the skinny schoolboy and launches into his ‘who are you looking at’ routine.
The victim of the bully-boy is terrified, as time and again he’s violently pushed back until he falls over and the lad’s friends have to come to the rescue.
The frightening incident happened 13 years ago, but there would have been a totally different reaction from the teenager to the threatening behaviour today.
That shy, slightly-built boy is now a mixed martial arts expert who’s vying for a world title after battling through the amateur ranks to become a professional fighter.
Reece McEwan now goes all out to punch, kick and wrestle his way to victory against real tough-guy opponents every time he steps into the cage.
He may have lost the Cage Warriors World Bantamweight title to English MMA battler, Liam Gittins last November, but the defeat on the judges’ decision has made Reece even more determined to win the title. That would give him a chance to make it to the world-leading MMA organisation, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The next step in that journey to the top takes place at Braehead Arena, on Saturday, September 7, when Reece takes on French MMA fighter, Miguel ‘Santa Muerte’ Haro, in Europe’s leading MMA organisation, Cage Warriors fight bill. Although it’s not a world title fight, it’s part of the process of getting another crack at the top prize.
MMA fight fans will also see Scottish MMA icon, Chris ‘The Bad Guy’ Bungard, from Holytown, Lanarkshire take on experienced fighter, Andrey Augusto, from Brazil. There’s a lot at stake in the evening’s fights as there’s a $50,000 prize pot up for grabs.
Reece, 29, from Greenock explains how that terrifying ordeal as a teenager transformed his life and turned him into the explosive cage fighter he is today:
“I was tiny – only five foot two – super thin, timid and an insecure boy with little confidence. I first heard of MMA when I used to stay up till 3am to watch a reality TV show, called Ultimate Fighter and I dreamed of being like the fighters I saw on TV.
“When I was 16 I went camping with a group of school friends and some older guys turned up and started picking on me. The biggest one squared up to me, said ‘who are you looking at?’ and started pushing me backwards.
“I wanted to scream for help but I felt so petrified and vulnerable, I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth.
“This bully kept on pushing me back until I tripped and fell on the ground. It was at this point that my friends came running over and jumped in to protect me.
“I was so embarrassed and when I got back home I remembered watching The Ultimate Fighter TV show and decided I was going to join an MMA gym to make sure I was never going to let that happen to me again.
“I didn’t want to have to rely on my friends to get me out of situations like that and if they needed help I wanted to be able to help them.”
The traumatised teenager joined the Griphouse martial arts gym, in Glasgow to learn MMA, started competing and moved through the amateur ranks to become the Number One amateur bantamweight in the UK and Ireland. He then turned professional in 2020 and signed with Cage Warriors two years later.
Reece doesn’t conform to the usual perception people may have of MMA cage fighters. He has a BA (Hons) in Business with Human Resource Management degree from Glasgow Caledonian University and worked in business support with a company before turning professional.
He is also a young persons ambassador for a suicide prevention charity called Man On Inverclyde.
As well as MMA cage fighting, Reece has had two K1 kickboxing knockout wins and is a black belt in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial art. He now also coaches youngsters in MMA.
He says: “As well as improving your physical condition, taking up the sport builds confidence and helps you become the best version of yourself. It also makes you mentally stronger and more resilient.
“MMA teaches you to be more disciplined and is useful tool in your journey in self-improvement.”
Reece talks about his reaction to losing out on his crack at the world title: “Losing that fight gave me clarity and showed me what it is to face adversity, which you need to do to become a world champion.
“It gave me the opportunity to learn and motivated me like never before to make me a better fighter.
“There has never been a Cage Warriors MMA bantamweight world champion from Scotland before and that’s what I’m determined to be.”
Tickets for the Cage Warrior event at Braehead Arena on Saturday, September 7 are available https://braeheadarena.co.uk/events/cw-glasgow/.