This Harry Potter star has become an MMA fighter

From Hogwarts to the octagon, it has been quite a journey for Joshua Herdman. Famous for his role as Gregory Goyle, a friend of Draco Malfoy, in the Harry Potter saga, the actor has somewhat abandoned his magic wand to launch himself into MMA. A rather successful adventure in the world of combat sports as he has a record of 2 wins and no losses in his career so far.

Joshua Herdman, the ‘wizard’ of MMA

Competing in amateur competitions in England within the welterweight category (under 77 kilos), Joshua Herdman has changed a lot since his time at Slytherin house in Hogwarts. From a teenager with a love of chocolate muffins, he is now an accomplished athlete with a body designed for mixed martial arts.

In his first fight at the Rise of Champions 2 in 2016, he outclassed his opponent Janusz Walachowski. Winning by the unanimous decision of the judges, the actor had beaten up his opponent in the 2nd round by punching him.

Actor above all

With a second win over Samuel Radley by split decision at the Rise of Champions 5, Herdman has not forgotten his acting career. He revealed at theWelcome to the Magic School III convention in 2017:

I did jujitsu for five years before I got into MMA, and my father was a professional boxer, so I spent my childhood surrounded by pictures of him boxing. Two of my brothers also box.

So I wanted to experience fighting too, and because of my jujitsu practice, it seemed logical to go into MMA. But the media talked about it as if I was changing careers: that's not the case, I'm still an actor. I am an actor before I am an MMA fighter.

This article is translated from Gentside FR.

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