by iNews
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by iNews
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A Strabane man has won a BrazilianJu-Jitsu World Masters Title in the United States.
31 year old Aaron Devlin was fighting in a class with 55 others and had to win five fights on the road to the lightweight title. He is also now Black Belt.
Aaron trains at the Mix Martial Arts gym in Derry under coach Martin McLaughlin, to whom he credits his success.
He said “I’ve had so much belief from Martin and others in the gym over the years, even when I haven’t really believed in myself to be totally honest.
“My parents allowed me to do what makes me happy and never pushed me too hard. My coaches always thought I could do something special and Martin would tell me that, but I found it very difficult to believe it myself.
“Even on the day of the World Masters, I was really nervous. I don’t know why, maybe it was because of the occasion, but the support that I had from my teammates was more than I could have asked for.
“Jiu-Jitsu has given me so much over the years and that, in a way, means more to me than winning the competitions that I have across the world.”
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