Lancashire's most popular martial art revealed as UFC comes to Manchester
As people across the country prepare for UFC’s return to England for UFC 304, interest in MMA continues to grow.
In fact, 2 English fighters are currently UFC champions, Salford's Tom Aspinall (Interim Heavyweight) and Birmingham's Leon Edwards (Welterweight).
Plus, with the recent boxing boom, seeing the likes of Manchester's Tyson Fury and London's KSI’s popularity continue to grow, England is certainly getting into combat sports.
Now, Harlow Leisurezone has analysed search engine data to find out which martial arts classes were searched the most in each region, and county, across England.
The data reveals that, in the North West, Jiu Jitsu is the most popular martial art – with the term “Jiu Jitsu classes near me” searched an average of 510 times a month.
“Boxing classes near me,” comes second with an average of 500 searches a month, and “Muay Thai classes near me,” third with an average of 492 searches a month.
| Region: | Most Searched Martial Art |
| North East England | Jiu Jitsu |
| North West England | Jiu Jitsu |
| South West England | Jiu Jitsu |
| East of England | Jiu Jitsu/Muay thai |
| East Midlands | Muay Thai |
| South East England | Muay thai |
| London | Boxing |
| West Midlands | Boxing/Kickboxing |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Kickboxing |
Digging into the North West data deeper, Cheshire and Cumbria both prefer Jiu Jitsu, with an average of 390 and 90 searches for classes a month respectively.
In Lancashire, Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai come joint first with an average of 480 searches a month each.
In Merseyside, it’s a draw between Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, each hitting an average of 590 searches a month.
Greater Manchester bucks the trend with Boxing emerging as the most popular martial arts class, at a whopping 1300 searches a month.
| County: | Most Searched Martial Arts Class |
| Cheshire | Jiu Jitsu |
| Cumbria | Jiu Jitsu |
| Greater Manchester | Boxing |
| Lancashire | Kickboxing/Jiu Jitsu/Muay Thai |
| Merseyside | Jiu Jitsu/Muay Thai |
In fact, when we take the whole of the UK into account, the research reveals Jiu Jitsu is the most popular martial art to study, with “Jiu Jitsu classes near me” being searched an average of 27100 times a month.
| Average Number of Searches Per Month | |||||||||
| Boxing | Kickboxing | Judo | Karate | Kung Fu | Taekwondo | Aikido | Jiu Jitsu | Muay Thai | |
| UK | 22200 | 22200 | 8100 | 8100 | 1900 | 9900 | 2400 | 27100 | 22200 |
Patrick Arnold, Activity and Engagement Manager at Harlow Leisurezone, who conducted the research, said “It’s really inspiring to see interest in martial arts rise.
“Training not only improves physical fitness, but it also grows respect, self-improvement and a sense of community. It’s more than just learning to defend yourself, it's about building confidence, discipline, and resilience, whilst also improving mental health and relieving stress.
“I’m proud to see the rise of English fighters in the UFC like Tom Aspinall, Leon Edwards, Paddy Pimblett, and Molly McCann inspire people to take up a martial art"
"I encourage everyone, regardless of age or experience, to give it a try.”