The inspirational story of Garrett Holeve, the MMA fighter with Down syndrome

Garrett Holeve has had more obstacles to overcome than most MMA fighters, but his inspirational story teaches us that you can never let anything hold you back.

By Adrian Collins

Garrett is not like any other Mixed Martial Arts fighter, he lives and fights with Down Syndrome.

Throughout his childhood, Garrett tried to distance himself from the tag of having Down Syndrome, and attended as many standard classes as possible. As a result, he is a very high functioning and through MMA he found a way to make people remember that he is not to be looked at as “just the kid with a disability”.

When his dad challenged all his sons to take on a bit of MMA down the gym, Garrett was the only one who really took to it, and threw himself into it with passion.

His coach Rodrigo “Baga” Ramos was at first unsure how to teach him, but from the experience Garrett has learned that life will be difficult, and you can’t let any challenge hold you back.

Former MMA fighter and all round legend Stephan Bonner also came on board to help him, and the piece asks us some important questions about what the world sees when we look at people who have any disability, and why we should always think again.

There are plenty of people who would never step inside that ring, and not have the same courage and attitude that Garrett has, which has seen him rise to be an MMA instructor for other people with disabilities. In his own words, Garrett will never back down from a fight, and he's gone on to prove that he should never have to.

Thanks to Aoife Savage for bringing this awesome video to our attention.