HONOURED.

That’s how Daniel Quarmby, speaking with palpable pride, described the way he’s feeling leading into XFC 26 on Saturday, February 20, which will be hosted in Brisbane in memory of his late brother Ben.

Ben Quarmby, a former amateur XFC title holder and undefeated through his amateur and professional career, passed away in September last year from Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

He was just 29 and one of the most promising mixed martial artists in the country.

Labelled XFC 26 - Ben Quarmby Undefeated, promoter Justin Lawrence announced the memorial event not long ago and it follows on from the establishment of the Ben Quarmby Award last year, given to the fighter who rises above all others with their performance both in and out of the cage.

“We’re honoured that Justin is doing this is Ben’s honour,” Daniel said.

“It shows us how much Ben meant to people, and the sport. Justin has been around MMA for a long time as a fight manager, so to have someone like that really wanting to do this for Ben, it shows us how special he really was.”

Making the night a little bit more special, two fighters from Ben’s gym, MMA United, are scheduled to fight on the undercard - Darren Morris and Adam Peebles.

“They aren’t just guys from the gym, they’re a couple of Ben’s best mates, they trained with Ben for years,” Daniel explained.

“We couldn’t ask for two better guys to go up and fight in Ben’s memory. We’re very honoured these two are representing the gym and Ben.”

Daniel admitted training the pair for Saturday week’s memorial event hasn’t been easy without his younger brother, but said the result doesn’t matter all that much as long as they both produce their best.

“It is a bit hard without Ben around, he was experienced and so knowledgeable, and we haven’t got anybody like him here now,” Daniel said.

“It is a bit hard in that respect to prepare ourselves, but the boys feel good. It’s not just a normal fight for these guys, they’re representing Ben and the gym, so there’s a bit more in this for the guys.

“But for the guys, win or lose Ben would be really proud of them and the way they’ve prepared themselves.”