A PROFESSIONAL fighter who fought cancer recently met a Wrexham AFC star who hailed him as 'inspirational'.

Aaron Aby is an MMA athlete from Wrexham who lives with cystic fibrosis and was also told he ‘was going to die’ after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2017.

The 33-year-old, who is a die-hard Wrexham AFC fan, has defied all odds to become one of the few professional athletes in the UK with Cystic Fibrosis, despite being told he had a life expectancy of 16 years.

Aby’s inspiring journey includes overcoming a cancer scare in 2017 where doctors told him that he had three months to live and would never fight again.

Determined to prove them wrong, he fought his way through cancer and back into MMA and is now set for the biggest fight of his career when he takes on US athlete Elias Garcia for the Flyweight Title at Oktagon MMA on Saturday, November 4 in Manchester.

The fighter just recently met current Wrexham AFC star Ollie Palmer who described him as a 'huge inspiration'.

Palmer said: "Aaron is a huge inspiration to so many people in Wrexham, and I want to help him get his story out there. We want as many people as possible to know how good he is at fighting, but also what a great person he is and everything he’s been through."

With Palmer’s clothing brand WXM sponsoring Aby for his upcoming Oktagon fight, he added: “If Aaron’s story can help even one person, that’s amazing. Because of the experiences he’s had, he’s in a position to be able to do that.

"All the lads at the club know Aaron, they know his story and what a good guy he is. Even spending a few minutes on the pads together today, I’m still trying to get my breath back! It’s a different level of fitness. To go for five rounds is incredible. Aaron’s got my support, Wrexham’s support and the whole of north Wales’ support.”

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Aby was equally appreciative of the support of Palmer: “To have someone like Ollie as part of my journey is massive. I've grown up in Wrexham all my life, I've grown up with the town and the football club and that's a big part of who I am today, so it's been brilliant to have him visit my Inspire Performance Gym.

“Preparations for my Oktagon fight, which is the biggest of my career, have been really good. It's a shot at a fairytale ending - I don't always believe in those, but this is a chance to achieve a dream.

"I'm bringing everything I've got into this fight; I have the opportunity to become a World Champion. The atmosphere at Oktagon in Manchester is going to be electric. It will be a great night with loads of great fights, so I'd encourage people to come down to watch and if anyone can come and support me, it would really mean a lot.”

The highly anticipated Oktagon 48 in Manchester is being hailed as the newest and most thrilling MMA spectacle in Europe.

The event will also feature a celebrity fight, with reality TV star Jake Quickenden and stand-up comedian Paul Smith having devoted the past ten months of their lives to MMA training as part of the ‘Stage to Cage’ TV series on Channel 4.