The third fighter on showcase, and closer to home is Aaron Sutherland from Gloucester, training out of Trojan Free Fighters under his dad, Paul Sutherland - a f

Summary

The third fighter on showcase, and closer to home is Aaron Sutherland from Gloucester, training out of Trojan Free Fighters under his dad, Paul Sutherland - a former professional fighter, and a name well respected on the local scene in his own right, who now runs the gym…

Caption

The third fighter on showcase, and closer to home is Aaron Sutherland from Gloucester, training out of Trojan Free Fighters under his dad, Paul Sutherland - a former professional fighter, and a name well respected on the local scene in his own right, who now runs the gym himself.

He picked up the nickname "The Sniper" at nine years old, in his first ever junior fight, and it never left him.

Fighting between 66-70kg with same-day weigh-ins, Aaron turned amateur at 16. He's 17 now and unbeaten at 4-0, with two knockouts, a submission and a decision to his name - two of those wins didn't make it out of the first round.

He sums up his own game better than anyone else could: "well-rounded violence." Dangerous on the feet, dangerous on the floor, no comfortable place to be against him.

His proudest moment to date is his most recent one - a first-round knockout over Liam Smith, a fighter he rates as one of the tougher, more skilled opponents he's faced. He didn't just win the fight. He walked through him.

It wasn't his only hard night, either. Elliot Clark - out of the same gym as Smith, a long, rangy, talented fighter - became the first man to take Aaron the distance. No knockout, no finish, just three rounds of problem-solving against someone built to make it difficult. Aaron won it on the cards, and on wits.

Having watched both performances first-hand, I can vouch for it myself - the level of opponent Aaron's been put in against, and the level he's shown in return, speaks for itself.

It was his dad who got him into the sport as a kid, and it didn't take long before Aaron knew this was what he wanted to do with his life. Unsurprisingly, his dad is still who he looks up to most - a former pro turned gym owner, and the standard Aaron's chasing. His training partner Scott Bedford has been by his side since they were kids, and the pair are climbing the ranks together, both sitting at 4-0.

Next up for Aaron: September 26th at SFC, against Josh Sharpe - a 4-2 amateur riding a two-fight win streak of his own. It's the toughest test on paper yet, and exactly the kind of fight Aaron's been building towards.

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