Cage Warriors 50's Brandon Hempleman says gymnastics prepared him for MMA career

Brandon Hempleman isn't worried about tiring out this week, even though he just fought two and a half weeks ago.

Maybe it's a bit of youthful enthusiasm. But it could also have something to do with how he laid the foundation for his MMA career – in gymnastics.

Hempleman (8-1) on Saturday meets former Cage Warriors champion Paul McVeigh (18-7) in the main event of Cage Warriors 50, which takes place at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. The main card streams live and free on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (9 p.m. GMT local time).

Hempleman on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) he was active in many sports growing up. But it was gymnastics that ultimately helped him steer toward his fighting career.

"It gave me a love of competition," Hempleman said. "My dad put me in it when I was younger. My dad wanted me to be like Bruce Lee. When I was 5, I wasn't ready to go to a karate school yet."

So it was gymnastics, which Hempleman said he competed in from the time he was 5 until he was 17. And he's still active in the sport in his native Idaho.

"I'm the head boys gymnastics coach in Twin Falls, and I still do all those workouts because of that," he said. "It's the best workout to be the most athletic. It's really similar, (exertion-wise, to MMA). MMA is no good for gymnastics, but gymnastics is great for MMA."

Hempleman isn't alone in the MMA world for his use of gymnastics as a portion of his training for the fight game. UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has taken up the sport to help with his fight preparation, as well.

Ironically, St-Pierre just returned from a lengthy injury layoff – but it's gymnastics that Hempleman believes can help him from suffering as many training injuries as many others in the sport.

"I feel like gymnastics almost injury-proofed me for (MMA) because we do a lot of stuff with strengthening the joints," he said. "The things that do get hurt are pretty common in both sports. We do lots of rotation exercises. You always make sure to stretch out and make sure you're getting full range of motion."

Hempleman on Nov. 16 won a hard-fought split decision against Olly Bradstreet in Utah. And when he fights in Scotland on Saturday, it'll be just three weeks in between fights. Earlier this year, he had back-to-back first-round stoppages just two weeks apart.

So the quick turnarounds are nothing new for him. Not this year, at least.

"My manager gave me a call after I fought three weeks ago," Hempleman said. "He said there's an opportunity over in Scotland, so I jumped all over it. I was already in fight shape and prepared for the type of fight this one's going to be."

Hempleman has won five straight, with a pair of split decisions sandwiching three first-round stoppages in the middle.

McVeigh, a native of Glasgow, will be the heavy hometown favorite. But he'll be fighting for the first time in about a year, since a loss to Erik Perez at BAMMA 8. The Scotsman has 12 submissions in his 18 career victories. But Hempleman thinks he can have the Scottish fans going home disappointed.

"I'm expecting it to be a tough fight," he said. "I think it could go the distance, but I'm going to do my best to knock him out."

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