Being locked in a cage with nothing but four ounce gloves is enough of a challenge for many, yet for Aaron Aby, a battle in the cage is nowhere near his toughest challenge.
The 32-year-old Welsh-born MMA fighter currently goes head-to-head with talented fighters under Cage Warriors Fighting Championship and holds an overall career record of 13-6-1.
Cage Warriors is known as the biggest MMA promotion in Europe, and has produced global superstars such as Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Paddy Pimblett.
Aaron Aby with a bloody eye trading blows during his Cage Warriors bout. Aby returned to Cage Warriors just eight months after he was cleared of cancer. Photo credit: Sashshots
Aby’s physical challenges began when he was two-weeks-old, when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disorder that damages the lungs, digestive tract and other organs.
Doctors told his parents that his chances of living past his teenage years were very low and he would live a very difficult life.
Aby says although he was consuming tablets, going to physio and having regular hospital checkups, he never realized how different his life was until he reached secondary school.
“I remember we had biology class and we were studying genetics and the teachers were talking about cystic fibrosis,” he told Humber Et Cetera. “They said most kids don’t live past 16 with cystic fibrosis. I remember being shocked by that information because it’s stuff I had barely known about.”
The persistence of Aby’s parents to give their son a normal life paid off as he quickly grew as a talented footballer in Wales, representing their under 13-to-17 international team where he played alongside one of the greatest wingers of all time, Gareth Bale.
Bale is a Welsh hero who carried the country on his back to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, where he scored their first goal in the tournament in 64 years.
Aby says he never took into consideration how great achievements such as these were until he faced death at close quarters.
“After basically being told I was going to die, that’s when I realized the things I’ve achieved. Sometimes it takes something bad to happen to really look back and appreciate what I’ve done,” Aby said.
He eventually went on to sign a part-time deal with his local club Wrexham, now famously known worldwide for being owned by Ryan Reynolds.
Once Aby began training in MMA, he said the thought of being able to control his own future and make his own decisions swayed him away from football.
Aby said once he began fighting, things changed for the good.
Instead of hiding his condition, he began proudly wearing t-shirts during his walkouts promoting cystic fibrosis to raise awareness and money.
“I wanted to raise awareness and put cystic fibrosis in a positive limelight,” Aby said.
“A lot of negativity surrounds my condition and I’d love to give people with it a positive hope, and I’d like to think I’ve done it already with my MMA career,” he said.
Aaron Aby landing a vicious elbow during his time with Absolute Championship Berkut. Photo credit: Absolute Championship Berkut
Unfortunately, Aby faced his greatest challenge yet when he was diagnosed with terminal testicular cancer in 2017.
He said once he read his diagnosis, he refused to believe that after all he’d been through in life, cancer was his next opponent. He went as far as paying for private scans to be certain of the diagnosis.
This time the doctors told Aby he had three-to-six months to live.
He said he decided he was going to face cancer head on and use his past struggles as motivation.
“If I wouldn’t have gone through the challenges of cystic fibrosis and if I wouldn’t have been an MMA athlete and gone through lessons in that, then I probably wouldn’t have gotten out the other side of cancer,” Aby said.
After eight rounds of chemotherapy and two major surgeries, including the removal of a testical and a 15-centimetre stomach tumour, Aby proved the doctors wrong once again.
Despite beating cancer, the doctors were sure that he would never be able to fight again because the chemotherapy weakened his lungs and bones.
Aaron Aby was treated in hospital during his chemotherapy. Aby went through two major operations to remove a testicle and a 15-centimetre stomach tumour. Photo credit: Aaron Aby
He said one doctor said he wouldn’t be able to take part in any physical training for 12 to 18 months. Aby refused to keep his head down.
Just eight months later, Aby returned to Cage Warriors and did what he loved most, competing.
“Completing my operations and getting the all clear wasn’t me cured of cancer. The day I was cured of cancer was the day I competed again,” he said.
For Aby, belts and money were never a real priority. He loves competing and above all he just wants to be the global voice for people with cystic fibrosis and other illnesses.
Aby said his ultimate goal is to sign for the UFC where he will have the biggest stage to tell his story and give people hope.
Aaron Aby walks out for a fight with a smile as he is embraced by fans in attendance. Aby says not much motivates him more than competing in MMA. Photo credit: Cage Warriors
“I get messages from people saying I’m their favourite fighter because I’ve changed the way they look at life and I helped them make it out the other end. That’s more important to me than any win or loss,” Aby said.
“You’ve got to understand that life is tough, so you need that commitment and that grit to find the toughness and hope to make it past whatever life throws at you,” he said.