Haskell’s hands full in training

ENGLAND flanker James Haskell has been engaging in gruelling Ultimate Fighting Championship-style training to hone his rugby skills.

Haskell has completed two sessions at London Shootfighters gym, which holds classes in boxing, Muay Thai, shoot-box, and freestyle wrestling — the disciplines that constitute mixed martial arts (MMA).

The popularity of MMA competitions such as ultimate fighting and Cage Rage, where opponents clash in an eight-sided enclosure called The Octagon, has rocketed in recent years.