Tom Mearns

Professional experience, practical coaching

Tom Mearns leads Thursday evening MMA and Submission Grappling at Onyx Combat Academy. His background brings experience of striking, takedowns and ground exchanges into sessions where students learn how those phases connect. The academy biography also records a Taekwondo black belt as part of his martial arts foundation.

A beginner does not need a professional fighter’s ambitions to learn from that experience. The value is in understanding a decision: when to enter, how to maintain balance, where control comes from and when a position needs to change.

Cage Warriors and Bellator

Tom’s published professional MMA record lists 10 wins and nine losses across 19 fights. His victories include two by KO/TKO, two by submission and six by decision. The record documents repeated Cage Warriors appearances and Bellator bouts, including Bellator 200 in 2018 and Bellator London in 2019.

It also records his unanimous-decision win over Bailey Gilbert at Cage Warriors 157 in July 2023 and his March 2024 appearance at Cage Warriors 168. These are specific competition records, rather than a claim that every aspect of his coaching can be measured by wins and losses.

Fighting across different phases creates practical problems. A strike can set up an entry, a takedown can leave the attacker in a poor position and a successful escape can open another attack. Tom’s coaching helps students understand what follows a technique as well as how to perform it.

Still competing in grappling

Tom continues to compete beyond professional MMA. Onyx’s competition feature covers his British Catch Wrestling bronze medal, recent NAGA gold and next scheduled test: a 79kg submission-only BJJ match against Allaeldein Elmaghrabi at OXO in Brighton on 14 November 2026.

That continuing involvement keeps competition part of his own training life. Preparing for a match involves choosing priorities, practising under resistance and managing the uncertainty of facing another athlete. Those experiences help inform conversations with students who are considering competing themselves.

What you can learn at Onyx

In MMA training, students work towards connecting their skills rather than treating standing and ground work as separate subjects. Distance, entries and transitions help explain how one phase creates opportunities in the next.

In Submission Grappling, the focus is on takedowns, positional control, escapes and submissions without striking. Learning to maintain a useful position against movement gives the student a foundation for attacking and defending.

Complete beginners can start with clear, manageable tasks. More experienced students can refine the details that make an action hold together against a resisting partner. Competition remains a choice, and recreational students receive the same attention to technical development.

Meet the academy

Check the current timetable for session details and use the MMA first-class route to arrange a visit. You can also ask the coaching team a question before booking.

Tom is one member of the Onyx coaching team, alongside specialists in Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo and Wrestling.