Günce Akpınar

How did you begin training MMA? When I first moved to Canada I moved to Welland (Ontario) and I was looking for something to do. In Istanbul I used to do Wing Chun but there’s no place to train it in Niagara, so I walked into this gym (Modern Vision) and they convinced me to start jiu jitsu and muay Thai, and this is how I started.

Who or what inspires you? Have you ever seen the anime Hajime no Ippo? In the beginning of pandemic I started watching it with Nate (Taylor) and I really liked the main character Ippo and he really inspires me. He’s a boxer…it’s a boxing anime.

Do you have a hero? No.

Would you rather win a fight by KO or submission in the first 10 seconds of your fight or the last 10 seconds? I think I would prefer the last 10 seconds by KO, because I think in the last 10 seconds I would be very surprised and it would be very exciting for me.

Where is one place you’ve never visited that you’d like to? Thailand.

Striking or grappling? I can’t choose, that’s why I started MMA.

Dogs or cats? I say cat because my cat just died.

What is your dream car? I really don’t know anything about cars.

Do you have a job outside of fighting, and if so, what? I’m a photographer.

What do you do for fun when you’re not training to fight? I like to go to different cafes to hang out and read.