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By Christian Johnson Copyright 2011 . All  rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Mixed martial arts champ uses fame to help others better their lives

Some take up baseball, soccer, football or basketball.

Muhsin Corbbrey chose mixed martial arts.

At age 8, his father enrolled him in classes. He stuck with it, and now he has a prestigious professional fighting career.

Things were not always so good for Corbbrey, though.

"Knucklehead" was the term he used to describe the lifestyle he had as a teen. He admits he was lucky not to have ended up in jail or worse.

He credits mixed martial arts for turning it all around.

Today, Corbbrey fights and teaches lessons out of Champions Training Center, located in Savannah.

The gym, which offers lessons starting with little kids all the way through adults, allows Corbbrey a refuge to pass his knowledge onto others.

"Mixed martial arts allows you to focus and set goals for yourself; it's probably had the biggest impact on my life," he said. "It's given me the opportunity to travel the world and to get out of my bubble."

While Corbbrey is deathly dangerous in the octagon and ring, outside of it he is a proud husband and father.

Corbbrey seeks to pass on his love for MMA to not only his students, but also his kin.

His wife Angie is actually a Golden Gloves boxing champion, and his 4-year-old son, Zafir, is a daily fixture at the gym.

"It (was) really surreal," Angie Corbbrey said when asked what it was like dating a professional fighter.

"It used to be stressful, but I'm used to it now."

Unfortunately though, many naysayers out there still view MMA to be a violent sport instead of one that requires incredible discipline. Because of this, some may worry about the impact such a violent sport could have on a young child; Angie Corbbrey is not among them.

"I'd rather our son do this than anything else," she said.

You may think being a husband, father and fighter would complete a person, But there is still more to Corbbrey; he's an activist.

While he seeks to build champions, he also seeks to build lives. As a professional MMA fighter, Corbbrey has been given a platform to get his views on how to better our world out in the open.

"Some people still lack basic freedoms and equal opportunities. They need our attention. We have to get out of our own bubbles and realize that we're all human."

Because of this, by training at Champions Training Center, one will not only become highly skilled in whatever MMA discipline they chose, but more importantly, they will become a better human being.

"People wish for better things, man. I want to show them there's a way out."