A TALENTED trio of Redditch superfighters will embark on the relatively brave new world of mixed martial arts fighting on Saturday - and battle it out for major titles.

Worcestershire Ju Jitsu Club's Ross Mason and Chris Rice will compete for world titles at the self-styled Grapple & Strike showpiece while Simon Roycroft will be given his introduction to the quickly-growing sport which has a huge following in countries like America and Japan.

The new breed of combat, which can attract up to 90,000 fans at overseas bouts, is a disciplined cocktail of traditional boxing, kick boxing and Ju Jitsu...and is quickly producing new stars in the sport.

Mason, for one, will hope to be one of them as he takes on Italian Ciro Gallo for the world Muay Thai title, the original art of kick boxing, at the Glades Arena in Kidderminster.

Rice, who had a traditional boxing background before joining the Redditch branch of the Ju Jitsu club, takes on Birmingham's Paul Hopkins for the middleweight title.

Roycroft, meanwhile, has a supporting bout against Wales' Michael Bethall as he bids to get more experience under his belt on a night when eight titles will be contested.

"Ross has a big task ahead of him but, like the other two, he is confident he can win," said Worcestershire county coach Ross Ianoccaro. "We hope that they can all become a big part of a sport that is growing all the time in this country.

It's the complete fighting challenge where are all the techniques are employed. You have to be versatile enough to change your technique during the course of a fight which is hugely more challenging then traditional forms of the sport.

Rice, who is also near to finalising plans for his first amateur boxing bout, added: "It's a big opportunity for all of us and a stepping stone for bigger things in the future. The big goal would be to compete at the Ultimate Fighting Championships which are normally held in America."

Tickets for Saturday, priced at £16 for all seats, are available at the Glades Arena Box Office on 01562 515151.