MMA star Kent Kauppinen insists he has learned from his mistakes ahead of his fight against Walter Gahadza at Wembley's SSE Arena next Friday.

The Chippenham-based puncher, who holds a record of 10-3, lost to Fabian Edwards in March after being stopped in the first round.

It was the first time the former Chippenham Town goalkeeper had fought at the venue and he was the first to hold his hands up following the loss after adapting a hesitant approach during the fight.

That approach ultimately cost the 26-year-old a win in front of thousands of MMA fans, according to Kauppinen, but he’s now ready to bounce back after being matched with Gahadza, a fighter with a 16-3 record, on the Bellator 200: London card.

He said: “I was a bit hesitant at my last fight, I didn’t push forward as much as I should do. I wasn’t very aggressive, but this time I will be.

“For me to go forward it is about not hesitating, I sat back and waited to see what would happen last time. I shouldn’t do that. I normally go forward.”

Kauppinen’s latest fight proved the biggest of his career to date and while it ended in defeat the 6ft fighter benefitted from the experience – though he expects another tough challenge when coming toe-to-toe with Gahadza.

“I know he’s a very good fighter,” said Kauppinen, who trains at the Dragons Lair gym in Melksham.

“He likes to stand up, which is good for me as I’m a fighter than does that too.

“It’s on the biggest stage. It was amazing competing at Wembley last time. I had amazing support and a lot of people came down, I could hear them – it was so good.

“Wembley is a proper venue, not a sports hall. And that was a nice feeling. It was a completely different experience for me. But at the end of the day I had to do it.

“You can either let the atmosphere get to you or you can crack on, I was fine. I was okay walking in and out, but I made a mistake and I’ve learnt from that. As long as I give my best and learn from it I don’t mind, I will fight anyone.”

Kauppinen hopes to pass on his expertise to the next generation, adding Chippenham has a host of talented MMA fighters waiting for a break into the sport.

He said: “We’ve got a few very good young amateurs and pros coming through.

“At the moment we’ve got a solid team. We’re all mates and all get on outside of the gym.

“We don’t look at it like ‘oh my god you’re fighting at Wembley’ we see it more as ‘that’s a good show to be on’.

“It’s just another thing for us, we all love to fight and that’s all we want.”