Head Coach at Point Blank In Galway
Meet Tim Murphy
Tim Murphy is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Irish MMA pioneer and competitor. Tim is a black belt under Rodrigo Medeiros. He also holds a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwon-Do and has competed extensively in MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and Taekwon-Do.
Early Martial Arts Career
Tim began his martial arts training in Taekwon-Do in his native Kerry at the age of seven. He received his black belt in Taekwon-Do in 1998 and began competing internationally, starting with the Taekwon-Do World Championship in England. Travel and competition quickly became a defining part of his martial arts journey, and he continued to compete both nationally and internationally in Taekwon-Do and kickboxing.
Notable achievements during this period include a gold medal at the WKA Kickboxing World Championship in Italy in 2002 at the age of 19, the Irish International Open Taekwon-Do Championships in 2003, and the Irish International Open Kickboxing Championship in 2004, which at the time was the largest competition of its kind in Europe.
Mixed Martial Arts
Tim started his first martial arts club in 2000 with the Limerick Institute of Technology Taekwon-Do Club. He went on to open the University of Limerick Kickboxing Club two years later with fellow martial artist Debra Donovan.
Around this time, mixed martial arts was beginning to gain recognition in Ireland. Tim began exploring MMA in a manner common to many early Irish competitors, studying instructional material and experimenting with grappling within his own club.
Within the small Limerick martial arts community, word began to spread of one of the few Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belts in Ireland at the time, Fergal Quinlan. Tim sought out Quinlan and began what would become a long-standing affiliation and friendship.
Mixed Martial Arts
In the summer of 2004, Tim took his first amateur MMA bout, losing to fellow Irish MMA veteran Mick “Sissy Boy” Leonard via first-round armbar. He returned to competition in December of the same year for his professional MMA debut, earning a victory over Paul O’Connor via doctor’s stoppage after a closely contested bout.
Tim went on to establish himself as one of the top featherweights in the country, competing regularly across a number of Irish promotions.
In 2006, Tim received his blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from SBG head coach Matt Thornton. Alongside other pioneers of the sport in Ireland, he travelled regularly to Dublin to train with John Kavanagh and his team, gaining experience and exposure at a time when high-level grappling was still scarce in the country.
Galway & BJJ Revolution Affiliation
Tim’s professional career brought him to Galway in 2007, where he began training with Point Blank Submissions under founder Mark Leonard, as well as Strange Wolves MMA.
In 2011, Tim took over the running of Point Blank following Mark Leonard’s departure. Shortly after assuming leadership, the club relocated from a small room in an industrial estate to its current, larger premises.
That same year, Tim received his purple belt from Team Ryano head coach Andy Ryan.
In 2013, Tim won a gold medal at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship in Long Beach, California, becoming the first Irish athlete to win gold at a Jiu-Jitsu world championship.
Main Competitive Achievements
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Professional MMA record: 8–3
- Tribal Warfare Featherweight Champion
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- IBJJF European Championship: Gold medallist, Master 1, brown belt (2017)
- IBJJF World No-Gi Championship: Gold medallist, Master 1, purple belt (2013)
- IBJJF European No-Gi Championship: Gold medallist, Master 1, purple belt (2013)
- Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing
- WKA World Kickboxing Championship: Gold medallist (2002)
- Irish International Open Taekwon-Do Championship: Gold medallist (2003)
- Irish International Open Kickboxing Championship: Gold medallist (2004)
Journey to Black Belt
After going undefeated at purple belt in 2013, Tim was promoted to brown belt by Fergal Quinlan. He returned immediately to competition at brown belt level but suffered a serious ACL injury while competing at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships in California in 2014.
Tim approached his rehabilitation with the same discipline that characterised his competitive career and returned to training by the end of 2015. He resumed competition in late 2016, winning double gold at the Paris International Open Championship.
In early 2017, Tim won the IBJJF European Championship at brown belt and was subsequently awarded his black belt by Rodrigo Medeiros.
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