From Fall River to World Champion: Aidan Lambert's Life as a Kickboxer

Zak Drapeau
2 days ago
6 min read

by Zak Drapeau 11/15/2025 Sportz Nation

WAKO Championships

Just before Thanksgiving day of 2025, local kickboxer and growing legend Aidan Lambert will represent New England and America in Abu Dhabi in the WAKO Kickboxing World Championships.

What is the WAKO World Championships? "WAKO" itself, (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) is the world's governing body for the sport of Kickboxing. The WAKO World Championships are single elimination tournaments of one-on-one Kickboxing matches. Different disciplines, age groups and titles separate the fighters and brackets. WAKO World Championships are held every two years for each age group, those groups being Youth (18 years old and younger) and Senior (19 years old and older). Per WAKO rules, only National Teams compete at these World Championship events with one member of the team competing in each weight class.

At just 19 years old, Lambert will be competing in his second WAKO World Championship. Last year, Lambert went to Budapest for the WAKO World Championships but he competed in the Junior bracket. This year he will be competing in the Senior bracket after amassing the age-19 requirement. Normally, the WAKO Championships are held every two years but with the Senior and Youth groups being held one year after another. In Aidan's case, after competing in the Youth Championships last year, he will have the uncommon distinction of competing in the event two years in a row now that he is 19 and competing as a Senior. Lambert will represent the USA in the 63.5-kg (149-pound) weight class.

Who is Aidan Lambert?

Aidan grew up in Massachusetts and from a very young age has been involved in sports and athletics. Growing up with his brother, Aidan was always competitive in sports like soccer but took to MMA at a young age.

When Aidan is not training for a Championship fight or a World tournament, he is studying Criminal Justice at UMass Dartmouth. Aside from his career goals in MMA, Aidan also has a keen interest in police work and has even expressed aspirations of taking entry tests for the Massachusetts State Police soon.

Along with his full-time schedule as a student and obvious his massive training workload , he also works as a part-time mechanic. A truly inspiring story that ties in his skills with machines and his impeccable character was told to me by his father, "One day when the boys were around 9 or 10, we were driving in Dartmouth and hit some traffic. When we noticed it was a woman blocking a lane and having bike troubles, my kids turned to me and said ["You know we have to help her Dad"]". This sense of helping others has not been lost on Aidan even as he's gotten older. "One of the things I am most proud of my son is his want to help other people. He is obviously training for important events such as fights at Gillette's but he still takes the time to help others and especially beginners. He will take time to help young kickboxers with their technique or just to share some wisdom."

I myself, have just recently began working out at Gillett's and can personally tell you that Aidan has helped me in my first few sessions even in the middle of training for World Championships.

Starting in MMA

When he was only 8 years old, Aidan first went to Gillett's MMA Gym in Tiverton, Rhode Island. At first, it was to see his brother Evan workout in Kid's Karate classes. It was not long after that Aidan and his father Tom decided that he too wanted to participate in MMA.

"I've always been drawn to this environment. One of my favorite movies as a kid was The Matrix and i was always drawn to the combat. I used to watch all of the old Bruce Lee documentaries as a kid with my dad and my brother and I just felt drawn to this sport, specifically kickboxing," is how Aidan described his early love of the sport.

In a very short time while he was still very young, Aidan went from the beginners classes to Jiu Jitsu and then to kickboxing as well. While Aidan has ventured to other Gyms for more diverse training, most of his experience has happened at Gillett's, including several amateur and professional kickboxing fights.

Competing across multiple organizations in amateur and professional fights such as WAKO and Cage Courage as well as others, Aidan has earned 8 different championships at his young age. 1 for boxing, 3 for local kickboxing, 1 for New England Kickboxing, 1 for USA vs International in Canada and 2 in US Nationals.

Most of his prowess as a skilled, championship fighter has to do with his dedication to the sport from such a young age. Competing in his first amateur fight at just 12 years old, when asked about how it makes him feel to have so many accolades he said, "to be honest I never would have thought I'd have been a 1-time champion much less have 8. I honestly don't think much about how many times I've won." Even though his skill and dedication has taken him to heights unimaginable for most, Aidan was still incredibly humble when I sat down with him.

What Will Make This Time Different?

"His maturity has really made a difference. He has been more dedicated and now has a lot more experience. I think us going to Budapest last year let him see what these tournaments are about. Now that he knows what he's in for, he's really taken his training to another level... His maturity to learn from last time's outcome is what has made him even better over the last year," was his father Tom's response when I asked him what's been different about Aidan from last year's tournament.

"I've really stepped up my game. Going to Hungary last year was a great experience and really gave me a good idea what I'm in for. Last year didn't go exactly as I hoped, and now I'm going to Abu Dhabi and looking for revenge," was Aidan's response when I asked him the same question.

With such exposure and experience in his fights both domestically and abroad in Hungary, Canada and soon to be Abu Dhabi, how is this young man handling the pressure? "I definitely feel that there is some pressure in terms of I'm fighting for the entirety of the United States. I'm more inclined to do better for the United States than just myself. I am able to push that away for the most part but I know 100% when I'm over there it's going to hit me."

Aidan would go on to talk about distractions such as breathing and music. Whenever he feels any pressure or is just trying to zone in to his training, he prefers the soothing sounds of System of a Down to get his head right.

Looking Ahead to Abu Dhabi

"It's honestly such an honor I get to represent New England," Aidan said when asked what it means to him to fight at WAKO World Championships later this month. "It's unbelievable that I get to represent our country in one of the biggest places for kickboxers to be [in Abu Dhabi]."

Aidan and his father will be leaving in just a few days as they gear up for their 15-hour flight to Abu Dhabi. Worthy of note, their travel plans include getting to Abu Dhabi a day earlier than most to acclimate to the time change and be more prepared. His father Tom said, "When [the U.S.] get there, we're at a disadvantage because most of the other guys are from that region. We want to go early so I have an extra day of finding where I can get extra towels and finding where the competition is from our hotel and any other small thing that will get us acclimated."

This year will mark Aidan's first time fighting in the Adults or Senior bracket and he is ready for the challenge. "In my last few fights, my training got so much better that I noticed I was ready to fight adults."

For the actual tournament, Aidan will be competing at -63.5kg (149 pounds) and will be matched with another fighter only one day before the competition starts. The other fighter will be anywhere from 19 to 40 years old and likely will be hailing from a country much closer to the venue than himself.

After Aidan goes to World Championships and represents Fall River, the State of Massachusetts, and his country, he will no doubt earn our support our respect and our love. This small town kid has shown dedication, discipline, skill and determination in his work ethic and his character and whether win, lose or draw he will have made everyone around him proud and better for just being around him. Abu Dhabi will not be the final destination though in fact, far from it.

Aidan is committed to a career in MMA. "I want to go Pro in Kickboxing, specifically because there have been talks about WAKO making a pro division." At some point in the future, Aidan's ambition and love for the sport has him already thinking about opening up his own gym someday. "I want to open up a gym and have it be another Gillett's, I'm loyal to Tim [Gillett] and would love to open up my own gym and be like a "Gillett's 2," he concluded with a slight laugh and a proud smile.

Just a reminder... This dude is only 19 YEARS OLD...