COREY Fry is looking to return to action in May after experiencing the highs and lows of life as an MMA fighter.

The 28-year-old from Blackburn learnt the two sides of the sport in his first two fights for Oktagon MMA - one of Europe’s biggest MMA promoters - as he followed up his stunning debut win in Germany with a disappointing defeat in Newcastle last month.

But win or lose, Fry said he is determined to learn from the experiences to make him a better fighter - and also learn how to deal with the outside pressures the sport can bring.

Fry grabbed the headlines when he beat the experienced and home favourite, Deniz Ilbay, in front of 20,000 partisan German fans in Cologne back in November.

It was a win that saw Fry earn the first-ever debutant ‘Performance of the Night’ award and the prize fund and plaudits that came with it.

But with it came the extra expectation, something Fry admits was tough to take as he lost to another unbeaten German, Max Holzer, on a raucous night at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle.

Fry could have opted to get back on the horse straight away and Oktagon 56 in Birmingham on April, 20. But having gone from one training camp immediately in to another, he said it was important to have a break to recharge his batteries.

“I was gutted but that is this sport, things can happen so quickly,” said Fry who trains out of North West Fight Academy in Preston

“After what happened in Cologne and the hype around it, I did feel like a did not live up to the expectations put on me and, to be honest, I felt like a let people down.

“I’ve always said I will go in with anyone and I have shown that, fighting two very good unbeaten fighters in the space of eight weeks.

“Obviously I got to experience the very high of the sport after what happened in Germany when I beat Ilbay and I was ready to go again.

“But looking back on it, basically going from one camp to the next with very little break was tough but I will learn from that. I am having a little break before I get going again.”

Fry, who had suggested Prague in June - in front of a sell-out 27,000 crowd - might be the date he was looking to return, is now in talks to compete at Oktagon 57 in Frankfurt in May.

Either way, he admits he enjoys performing on foreign soil.

“Fighting at home is great as family and friends can see you compete but going abroad, especially Germany, is brilliant. The crowds are massive and the atmosphere is incredible.”

Looking back on his defeat in Newcastle, which was a second round rear-naked choke submission, Fry added: “It was a really close fight and the judges couldn’t really separate us after the first round.

“I enjoyed myself in there, it was a good scrap. This game is full of highs and lows, and I will be back stronger.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into the gym with my amazing coaches and working on what cost me the victory and making sure it doesn’t happen again.”

While Fry looks likely to sit out Birmingham, teammate Shoaib Yousaf from Nelson could feature after he had to withdraw from Newcastle with an injury.

“I suffered a muscle tear doing a very little pad session on fight week,” said Yousaf of the injury. “I trained extremely hard and put in a great camp out in Thailand.

“All the hard work was done and the injury occurred on a session that was light.

“However everything happens for a reason, I will now focus on my recovery and getting back out there as soon as possible.”