“I can help and give back” - Aussie standout Izaak Michell says setting up a BJJ school in Australia will always be his goal
Australian standout Izaak Michell remains committed to bringing the best submission grappling knowledge to his home nation of Australia.
A lifelong athlete, Michell's ultimate goal isn't just to win world titles and share the wealth of knowledge he's received throughout his career.
Michell, however, has to gain more than enough notoriety before he even lays the foundation of his school. Luckily for him, he could jumpstart his path to superstardom in his next matchup.
The 25-year-old will challenge Tye Ruotolo for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 21: Eersel vs. Nicolas on April 5 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Ahead of his world title opportunity, Michell told ONE Championship of his dreams of becoming a mentor to the next generation of Australian submission artists.
Izaak Michell said:
"I also want to spend the time after my professional career giving back, especially in Australia where I can open up a huge school and I can help and kind of give back everything that I learned from being overseas for so long."
Michell grew up in Adelaide and played every sport available to him in his childhood.
The submission machine took up skateboarding, surfing, and Australian Football, but Brazilian jiu-jitsu was the sport that became his life's passion.
Izaak Michell eventually made his way to the United States where he would learn under the tutelage of the famed BJJ coach John Danaher.
Izaak Michell recalls his time playing Australian Football as a kid
Izaak Michell never liked to be kept idle during his childhood, and one of the sports he took an immediate liking to was Australian Football.
The sport fueled Michell's competitive drive, but he also developed a certain itch for fighting.
While Australian Football allows physicality, Michell knew he had to take up a sport where he could fight for real.
That sport was BJJ.
In the same interview, Michell recalled how natural it was for him to transition from Australian Football to BJJ.
"I was doing Australian Football or AFL. I was playing other sports at school, a lot of skateboarding, surfing, that sort of stuff. I found myself really enjoying the fighting aspect in the AFL matches. I liked getting in and under, that sort of thing. I was a midfielder, and then I figured I might as well try to find some place that I can actually just fight in general."
ONE Fight Night 21 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.