Briton in Isis video prepared for jihad by taking up cage fighting in Welsh gym

• Reyaad Khan, 20, practised mixed martial arts at gym in Cardiff
• It involves fighting in 'cages', cushioned floors surrounded by fencing
  
• Head coach Henry Saye, 34, said he had been unfit but got into shape
  
• He added Khan 'suddenly changed' and started ranting on Facebook
  

By ABUL TAHER and NIC NORTH

Published: 17:29 EST, 28 June 2014 | Updated: 17:29 EST, 28 June 2014

One of the British Isis fighters seen in a recruitment video made sure he was ready for combat by taking up cage fighting.

Reyaad Khan, 20, chose to prepare himself by practising mixed martial arts (MMA) at his local gym in Cardiff.

The sport involves fighting in ‘cages’ – round cushioned floors which are surrounded by plastic and metal fencing.

Training: Reyaad Khan (left) chose to prepare himself by practising mixed martial arts at his local gym in Cardiff

Last night Henry Saye, head coach at the £30-a-month gym, said Khan was short and podgy as a teenager.

But Mr Saye said he was ‘in good shape’ when he last saw him – just weeks before he left Britain with his friend, 20-year-old Nasser Muthana, who reportedly also took part in MMA sessions.

The 34-year-old trainer, who works at the Brotherhood gym near  Khan’s Cardiff home, believes he was radicalised a year before he left Britain.

He said: ‘He suddenly changed. On Facebook, he started ranting about the US and the way that the West treated Muslims. He hadn’t been like that before. Almost overnight, he became a reactionary.’

The detail of Khan's training was revealed as it emerged President Obama has sent a special unit of CIA officers to the UK to investigate British Muslim extremists.

Head coach Henry Saye said Khan (circled) was short and podgy as a teenager but was recently in good shape

The unusual move has been made amid growing fears in Washington that we are becoming a ‘breeding ground’ for terrorism.

In a pointed snub to MI5, the agents arrived on a ‘lone wolf’ mission to interrogate senior security experts about the radicalisation of UK Muslims.

It is more normal for the U.S. to rely on intelligence shared directly from the British security services.