11-year-old Stoney Creek martial artist to represent Canada in Muay Thai Youth World Championship

A young Stoney Creek athlete will be representing Canada at the end of summer in Abu Dhabi for the International Federation of Muaythai Association’s (IFMA) Youth World Championship.

At 11-years-old, Tyson Gubbins will be up against the best Muay Thai fighters his age in the world, looking to bring home a gold medal.

Gubbins is a regular boy from Stoney Creek except his hands are also lethal weapons.

“I train everyday – in the mornings I go for a 5 km run,” said Gubbins. “My Sundays are rest days, but other days I train for two hours.”

With a record of four wins and four losses, Gubbins has earned the honour of representing Canada at the IFMA Youth World Championship this September in Abu Dhabi.

“My goal is to be the best fighter I can be and go on to be the UFC champion one day,” said Gubbins.

Last year, Tyson represented Canada for the first time, losing a hard fought match to a fighter from Greece.

That loss just made him want it more.

“Losing is a part of the sport, and it just motivates you to keep going,” said Gubbins.

Coached by Dennis “The Bosnian Menace” Puric at Soi Dogs MMA & Fitness Gym in Stoney Creek, Gubbins trains in Muay Thai six days a week.

“Tyson is a very enthusiastic kid, full of energy,” said Puric. “I’ve known him since he was four and always had that fighter mentality since he’s come into the gym.”

“I just know that one day he’ll be a star,” said Puric.

The Youth World Championships are like the Olympics for Muay Thai fighters and Gubbins is pumped for the chance to represent his country once again.

“I’m just gonna keep training hard, gonna bring that gold back,” said Gubbins. “Let’s go.”

As one can imagine, getting to Abu Dhabi is expensive, so Gubbins and his family started a GoFundMe page to raise $7,000 to pay for the trip.

The page is called “Help Tyson to 2025 IFMA World Championships” where they have raised over $2,000 already.

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