Share

Local MMA Show to raise money for Charlie Thornton

th
Little Charlie Thornton

Two local men who run an MMA show from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham will hold their 3rd MMA event so far but this time with a twist. Mark Reay who runs Viper MMA and Marvin Ryder will look to raise funds for Charlie Thornton this weekend (17th October) by having a raffle and an auction collection at his event. Last Man Standing will be held at the Spectrum Leisure Centre in Willington, County Durham and will be headlined by local pro MMA fighter Chris Thirkell as he faces Shaun Lomas. Charlie Thornton, who turns 4 a day before the event was not expected to live to see his first birthday. He suffers from an extremely rare condition called RYR1 related congenital myopathy. Myotubular myopathy is a rare muscle condition that can be present at birth or can develop later in life. It causes severe muscle weakness and most critically affects the muscles that control swallowing and breathing. It is a life limiting condition that means a simple cold could become fatal. Many children do not live past their first birthday. 

marv
Generous Marvin Ryder

Shortly Charlie will be moving into his own very first bedroom after the family move into their home adapt for him after living his whole life downstairs in the families living room. The club are looking to raise money to help decorate his bedroom and buy him some nice sensory equipment in order to make his life more comfortable. The donations for the raffle have came thick and fast from the local MMA community and many well known faces have helped out. The list includes UFC fighter Davey Grant, pro MMA fighter Tom Denham, gym owner Dale Mcpherson, pro MMA fighter Andrew Fisher, local promoters Dale Percival, Richard Ince and David Weild, K1 stars Jamie Bates and Micky Terrill, coaches and fighters Andrew Davison, Josh Abraham, Anth Hopper, Dean Bolam and Paul Hubber, photographer Angy Ellis among many others!

mark
Mark Reay and a student

We caught up with Mark and asked him why him and Marvin decided to do something different at this show, here’s what he said                                                                                                                                                      “I was told about Charlie from a friend of mine, as soon as I read the story and saw him in his pictures I just knew I wanted to help. That’s when the idea a fundraiser at the show came about, this is just the start for Charlie and the last man standing team. We will continue to support him every show, who wouldn’t want to help that little guy? Let’s hope we can raise enough to make a difference, best of luck to Charlie and his family from me and the team”

Charlie and his lovely parents will be at the event to thank well wishers and the generous people that have contributed to help him with his new bedroom!

Good luck to everyone involved and respect from MMA UK!

 

 

 

lms

Join Our WhatsApp Group

Join our UFC WhatsApp fan group and discuss the latest UFC events and news