A young Jewish fighter from Manchester has been selected as one of 25 individuals to represent England in the under-18 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Youth World Championship next week.
Rocco Bernstein, 16, a former student at King David High School in Manchester, will be travelling to Abu Dhabi to join more than 800 up-and-coming athletes from 45 countries to compete in the competition beginning on August 5.
On the first day of the two-day event, Rocco will fight three matches against 16 to 17-year-old opponents of the same weight bracket, the results of which will determine whether he qualifies to continue competing on the second day.
“It’s basically the Olympics for junior fighters; our world championship,” Rocco told the JC.
Winning a gold medal in this tournament would open the doors to sponsors, provide a boost to his social-media following and all but guarantee the opportunity to compete officially in the sport as an amateur once Rocco turns 18.
Having just turned 16 two weeks ago, Rocco will be one of the younger competitors in his age bracket, but he is unfazed. “I’m one of the younger ones, but I don’t mind,” he said. “If they’re in the same weight class, I don’t really care how old they are. I’m just focused on my performance. It would be a huge competition to win.”
MMA fighter Rocco Bernstein (Photo: Matthew Bernstein)
Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is a full-contact multi-technique combat sport that focuses on grappling, striking and ground fighting to subdue opponents, either through submission or knockouts.
Rocco has so far racked up nine wins and four losses in his burgeoning career, securing two belts in the process. The first, from the Elite Combat League (ECL), was won after defeating the organisation’s reigning champion, a boy from London, and the second, from the BadMoFo (BMF) organisation, the largest junior show in Europe.
MMA fighter Rocco Bernstein (Photo: Matthew Bernstein)
Rocco began training in jiu-jitsu aged eight and has been “determined to make it” ever since. He trains up to three times a day, six days a week, in addition to cardio sessions and stretching.
He said: “I love training. I’ve always had an ability to never give up. I just work hard, always have, and I like winning. I find training fun, so it’s not that hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and go to train.” Despite being proud of his “all-around ability”, Rocco says he excels at fighting on the ground, which he describes as “pure wrestling”.
To qualify for the United Arab Emirates-hosted tournament, Rocco had to first get noticed by the England national squad and then undergo trial fights in Liverpool and London.
Despite sometimes feeling like “the only Jew in the village” competing in the sport, he says he has faced little antisemitism. There are “no Jews” at the gyms he trains at and very few Jewish competitors internationally, though there will be an Israeli boy in his grouping in Abu Dhabi.
MMA fighter Rocco Bernstein (Photo: Matthew Bernstein)
“It sometimes can feel like me against the world, but generally, everyone in the sport is really nice and friendly, so I haven’t run into too many problems,” he said. “A lot of people are jealous of me to be fair – of my belts, of my wins.”
Rocco says he doesn’t have time for much else outside of training. “I pretty much dedicate most of my time to making it big in MMA, and I’m doing good so far.”
IMMAF 2024 Youth World Championship will take place from August 5 to 10 and will be available for pay-per-view online
A Gofundme page has been set up for Rocco to cover the costs of travelling and competing in the UAE. This can be found here
Instagram: @roccobernsteinmma
TikTok: @rocco_mma
