Cleator Moor, England’s Brett Nolan, fought twice in 2025 and was preparing for his third bout in early 2026. But as the date of his competition drew closer, tragedy struck him. His 27-year-old friend, Nicole Ingall, passed away in January after an epileptic seizure. The unfortunate incident ignited a purpose within Nolan, who started preparing for the toughest challenge.

Nolan turned his grief into purpose and was set to compete in the Machine: Mixed Martial Arts Show. He was adamant about dedicating the bout to his late friend and hoped to raise awareness of unforeseen death in epilepsy. The Cleator Moor resident has been raising money for an epilepsy charity in the lead-up to his fight in Newcastle on February 28, 2026. 

“The best way I could describe Nicole is young, wild, and free. She was the light in everyone’s lives,” he said, according to a report from the BBC. “It was a massive shock. It still hasn’t really sunk in, and I don’t think it will for a lot of people for a very long time.”

Although details of his fight remain unclear, he described it as “the hardest of his life.” Several social media posts claimed he ended up facing John ‘Rambo’ Gilfillan after his original opponent withdrew due to injury. Regardless, Nolan trains out of Ox Fight Academy in Workington and currently holds a record of 2-0, per Tapology.

According to Nolan, MMA is a mix of boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu-Jitsu. For now, though, he appears proud of what he has managed to do outside of the cage.

Brett Nolan has already managed to raise £4,000/$4,687 

Ingall passed away while Nolan was preparing for his bout. He later said that the grief from her death compelled him to support others living with epilepsy.

“I thought, I can’t sit back and let this happen. I decided to raise money and awareness of a condition that not many people know about,” Nolan said. 

Despite acknowledging that his opponent had a lot more experience than him, Nolan explained the fight was more than just a win or loss for him. He has managed to raise more than £4,000/$4,687 for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) Action and hopes it will make his late friend proud. 

“Hopefully, she would be proud, that’s what I keep thinking all the time. I hope I’m making her and her family proud and giving them a little bit of happiness in such a dark time.”

Whether Brett Nolan won or not is currently unclear, but his actions have won him hearts across the globe. What did you think of Brett’s motivations?