IT’S usually not a good idea to mess with anyone whose nickname is ‘The Axe Murderer’.

This is definitely true in the case of Wanderlei Silva, one of the biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) who is in town to open the Kane Academy at Perseverance Mill on Lockwood Scar.

A hero in his native Brazil, Silva transferred to “Ultimate Fighting” in America and dominated the sport and he will soon be making an appearance at the martial arts academy run by Huddersfield’s Rebecca Kane.

The appearance of a bona fide star of mixed martial arts is set to cause a stir among the legion of MMA followers as he carries out a series of seminars in the UK.

The chance to play host to him however came as a bit of a surprise to five times Wolf Filipino Martial Arts Champion Rebecca.

The 25-year-old said: “We’re open for business at the academy but we’ll be having a full launch in October. Wanderlei is coming to the UK and the lady organising the trip sent me a message saying she had read about the opening. I’m one of the few women running an academy without a male partner and she said he’d be happy to come and open it.

“I’m excited to meet him. He has a fearsome reputation but he’s bringing his wife Tea and son Thor – he’s a real family man.

“He deserves his reputation and they call him ‘The Axe Murderer’ – there’s no stopping him. In competition he just goes straight forward and tries to annihilate people. He’s second to none and in the sport he’s a legend.”

To put the former middleweight champion’s prowess into perspective he has knocked out the former ultimate fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson who is currently appearing as BA in the remake of The A-Team.

Rebecca says she is keen to raise the profile of the academy with a string of appearances, among them Doctor of mathematics at Manchester University Rosi Sexton, an academic who is one of the UK’s top fighters.

The academy also offers yoga and street dance opportunities.

Tickets for the October event will be on sale from the Kane Academy Gym and information is available at 01484 544448.

You can also visit Rebecca’s website by entering Kane Academy into a search engine.