MEET THE TEAM

Melissa Mullins - Head Coach   

Melissa Mullins has been involved in martial arts since 2016. After falling in love with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Melissa became an amateur MMA fighter, quickly progressing through the ranks to professional status. 

Melissa signed to the UFC in 2023, the most prestigous MMA promotion on the planet, that same year she also won double gold at the IBJJF World Championships, the most high profile No Gi tournament in 2023. Melissa’s professional record currently stands at 6-1-0. As an all rounder, Melissa is not only known for her striking and heavy hands, but also her high pressure grappling bringing an unmatched level of experience to the instructor team at Levels.

Notable Accomplishments:

  • Active UFC Bantamweight Fighter

  • GTFP Bantamweight World Champion

  • IBJJF 2023 No Gi World Champion - Medium Heavy

  • IBJJF 2023 No Gi World Champion - Open Weight

  • 2x British Open Champion

  • Polaris PSG Expert Open Weight Champion

  • Ludus Invitational -70kg Grand Prix Champion

Shaquille Buckley - Head Coach         

Shaquille has been involved in Martial Arts since the age of 6, a long journey which led to him starting in Grappling in 2020. Shaquille started competing very early on in his jiu jitsu career and over the years has earned an impressive number of gold, silver and bronze medals while boasting a wrestling heavy approach and high submission rate.

Shaquille has a large wealth of experience teaching and working with children, having tutored classes of 4-16 year olds maths, science and english early on, which organically led into coaching Kid’s BJJ after knee surgery in 2022.

Notable Accomplishments:

  • IBJJF 2022 European Championship Medallist

  • All Stars Cardiff Champion - Weight & Absolute

  • Empire Grappling York Champion

  • Grappling Industries Liverpool Champion - Gi & No Gi

  • Grappling Industries Birmingham Champion - Expert No Gi Open Weight

  • Leicester Grappling Series Quintet Champion

  • IBJJF Madrid Open Medallist - Gi & No Gi

James Lilly - Coach           

James joined the Levels team already boasting a large wealth of experience, having started with striking, James developed a high levels skillset as both an athlete and a coach across K1, Muay Thai, Kickboxing & MMA, having competed across all disciplines over the course of a decade. With such a varied background, James looks to teach striking in a way that pulls inspiration from all striking arts, with a partricular emphasis toward pressure, space management & individuality in style. Outside of striking sports, James has a wealth of experience in grappling, being an active competitor and boasting a high level wrestling skillset.

Notable Accomplishments:

  • Over 10 years of experience across Striking, MMA & Grappling.

  • Polars PSG Lightweight Champion - No Gi

  • Leicester Grappling Series Quintet Champion

  • All Stars Midland Pro Absolute Medallist - No Gi

Jenny Luckman - Operations Manager

Jenny is our very organised Operations Manager who looks after all aspects of the Academy’s running including any membership enquiries, uniform, timetables or general questions about Levels MMA.

Any questions at all, get in touch with Jenny and she will be able to help.