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Gone are the days of working nightclub doors until the early hours, whilst studying forensic science at university and juggling training, but Long has never forgotten what he got into the fight game for.
“When I started, I still remember crying going into the dojo as a kid, my mum took me there kicking and screaming and my friend talked me into going,” Long said.
“Once I realised that I could have that physical battle with someone, I never looked back.
“You never get into this for the money, you get into it for the love, but it’s something that I really enjoy.
“It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do and build my life around it.
“When I was a young teenager, I used to hold pillows in the house for my other friends as kick-pads, so it’s always been a vocation for me, and I’ve never looked at doing anything else.
“Everyone has always spoken about titles, and I’ve never looked at fighting like that.
“I’ve always looked at it as my next opponent, I’ve never cared about titles, I just keep fighting, hopefully keep winning.
“That leads to belts and titles but it’s never been an objective of mine; it is to get those accolades, but I’ve always just enjoyed the process of fighting opponents and wanting to fight better.
“Every day I wake up thinking I’m going to be better than I was the day before and I think that’s the real gift of the sport.”