Luke Trainor is knocking on the door of fighting for the Bellator MMA light heavyweight title, but his goals and objectives are more clearly defined by what he does outside the cage. Trainor’s parents have been adopting children since he was 12 years old, and he’s focused on fostering as much as he does on his fighting career. So he plans to stop fighting when he’s making enough money to achieve those goals.
Speaking to reporters at the media day for Bellator Champions Series London this week, the trainer explained that his focus on developing foster athletes is something he takes just as seriously as his combat sports camps.
“I work a lot with schools now, I work with kids in care. My role is to go there as a mentor, teach them martial arts and then have a moment for them to confide in me. I’m just an outsider who can give advice or just listen. In fact, after this fight, [I’m
going to] “My plan is to win, double my prize money, get my first property and open my first children’s home. My mum and dad are still foster parents and anything to do with foster care is number one for me.”
The trainer, who takes on Laurinas Urbonavicius in London on Saturday, believes the fight has a lot to offer him as he looks to produce a much stronger performance than his last win over Grant Neal. He has his eye on current champion Corey Anderson and will be looking to finish him in London, but the overall target remains his.
“Once I have enough money to do what I want in the foster care system, I will leave the sport. I’m not staying here to be a craftsman. My ultimate goal after I leave the sport is to run a chain of orphanages that only cater to abandoned kids between the ages of 13 and 18. Those are the kids I focus on. I bring martial arts, I bring a different perspective, a different skill set that other orphanages don’t bring. I don’t think there is enough support for those kids. In talking to them, I know I have a need and there are people around who can help. We can help a lot of people become better, safer, more loved people.”
Chasing dreams both inside and outside of his martial arts career, the trainer spoke about his ability to focus on both and not give up on the pursuit of either, but admitted he’s not entirely convinced that focusing on goals outside of martial arts while being fully immersed in his martial arts career is a good thing.
“I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Some people who do this sport think it’s the only thing they want to do. They leave their whole family, their loved ones, everything, just to fight and win a belt. For me, there are so many things that are much more important. I think God wants me to do this in foster care, and that’s why I’m here.”
Without taking any of his opportunities away from his career as a fighter, the trainer acknowledges that his own fighting career has paved the way perfectly for him to achieve all that he wants to achieve at the orphanage.
“I’m lucky to be able to make money playing this sport. [fighting] “This is like a stepping stone. It may sound silly to say this because I’m in such a great place right now, but if I had a choice, I’d rather not fight tonight and be a foster kid, or not be a foster kid and fight for the belt tomorrow, I’d quit this, tell everybody, ‘see you later,’ and be a foster kid. I love this sport, this sport has given me so much, and I’m very grateful, but that’s why I’m here. I’m here to make as much money as I can, win as many belts as I can here, and when it’s time to go, I’ll go, and I’m going to go to help human beings.”
