UFC London’s Kurtis Campbell knows he doesn’t look like a typical fighter.
With his shaggy, vintage Oasis haircut from the 90s, combined with the glasses he wears outside the cage (and almost immediately again after he wins), the 23-year-old prospect from Liverpool understands that he’s probably one of the most unassuming savages on the entire UFC roster. But with a perfect 8-0 record with six finishes, including a vicious knockout on The Contender Series that earned him a UFC contract, Campbell might
just be the next big thing coming out of England, even if he doesn’t dress the part.
“I’ve got two different personalities,” Campbell told MMA Fighting. “There’s obviously Kurtis, and then there’s the ‘Pink Panther.’ It is two different people. My guilty pleasure is violence. The glasses and the hair and the pink shorts, it doesn’t matter. I love violence. I am that person. I do get pleasure out of hitting people.
“So it’s just one of those things, until you see me fight, you won’t know how violent I am. Whether the looks are good, I don’t need to look like a fighter when I’m walking around on the street. I just need to look like me.”
Campbell started training in martial arts when he was just seven years old, but his first trip to a Muay Thai gym came at the suggestion of his parents because he was getting bullied in school.
Thankfully, his cousins were already training at the same gym, so it gave Campbell easy access to learn from them and his new coaches, but he didn’t immediately fall in love with it. In fact, he was so upset after his first day on the mats, he cried, ready to quit, but his mother wouldn’t allow it.
“Obviously, I was an easy target when I was younger,” Campbell explained. “Small kid, glasses, and quite fat, so quite an easy target. My mom and dad wanted me to learn how to defend myself, so they took me to my cousin’s gym, and that’s where I met my coach that I’m still with, and I just never looked back. It was my cousins got me into it.
“But make no mistake, the first time I came out of there, I was crying off the mats, and my mom gave me a little slap and told me to get back on there. I’m so happy she did.”
By 14, Campbell was so entrenched in martial arts that he already knew his future was going to be fighting. While most kids that age have barely contemplated what college to attend or jobs to pursue, Campbell was convinced that fighting was all he ever wanted to do.
“I probably sat my dad down and my coach when I was 14 or 15, and I just won a world title in Spain,” Campbell said. “I came back home a week later and won another MMA fight, and I said I think I can do this for a living. I asked my dad, and I asked my coach, and they said as long as I put hard work in every day and really chase my dream, they’ll back me.
“But if I’m not really putting the work in, then it’s not an opening. I’ll have to get a job. Since then, I haven’t stopped training. I’ve put my heart and soul into it every day. Now my mom and dad back me, I’m in a really good position.”
On Saturday, Campbell makes his UFC debut, opening the main card for the promotion’s return to London, which was an honor he didn’t expect but one he absolutely embraced.
He also received another surprise when he checked into the fighter hotel and the UFC presented him with custom pink shorts — a request he made just after signing his contract off The Contender Series.
It turns out his desire to wear pink came from his father, and truthfully, it only fed into Campbell’s already unassuming personality, so it worked out perfectly even if it started as a dare.
“My dad dared me one time, I bet you won’t wear these pink shorts, and I was like, I will,” Campbell said with a laugh. “It’s like someone telling you don’t do it, and you want to do it. That’s exactly what I’m like. I’m like, I’m wearing them, and I continued wearing them.
“I was doing a podcast, and they said you should have the name ‘The Pink Panther,’ and because someone else said it, I heard it, and instead of me just coming up with it. That’s catchy. It’s really catchy, and I’m going to run with that.”
Campbell knows he’s in a rare position that isn’t afforded to many debuting fighters with a main card spot taking place in his home country. As much as that might add some undue pressure for some athletes, Campbell embraced the opportunity, and he plans to get the show started with a bang.
“No pressure, only passion,” Campbell said. “I have so much passion for this sport that when I’m in there, I’m just trying to enjoy it. I only fight for Kurtis, and that’s one thing that my family has always made sure — I’m not doing it for them, I’m doing it for me.
“Especially in this sport, you’ve got to be happy day in and day out because it can be a dark place. I love being in this position. I love being under the lights.”
