What is most important in life? I figure the answer varies from person to person, being as none of us are the same. We are all products of different environments. Fighters are the result of their cumulative life struggles. My coach told me that a couple weeks ago. He also said, “Why are you putting so much pressure on yourself? It’s supposed to be fun.”
Amen brother! A certain amount of pressure is good of course because it breeds accomplishment, but self analysis can get out of hand quickly. At the end of the day, it’s just a fight. All of the training we do is designed for one purpose: to make me a fighter. The fight is in the mind and the mind is strengthened by the training. The sweat and the pain and the struggle are necessary to fuel the fire. The fire burns inside and pushes the fighter toward his goal, which is victory.
When I started fighting two years ago I relied on instinct in the cage. That instinct was developed over 30 years on this planet. I have performed nearly every blue collar job. My hands and feet are hard and calloused. My personality is abrasive and my language is blunt and unapologetic. That is who I am. I am the result of an unpleasant childhood, surrounded by domestic abuse and verbal assaults. I spent a lot of time talking to myself, and I still do. I love my family and always will, but the fight inside of me is a yearning for peace. I figure the only way to stop the insanity is to put your foot down. I know it sounds crazy and yes, I am.
I spent a lot of time over the past six months working on my boxing skills. I enjoy striking as much as anything, but I got away from my natural style. I like to put my hands on things. I’ve been using my hands to work my entire life. Whether I was helping my step-dad on a construction site or running a grill or slinging cocktails, I work with my hands. I don’t strike; I grab. I twist and turn and break and thump and stretch and torque. That is who I am.
So this abrasive, aggressive, blunt, vulgar, calloused, unapologetic blue collar Hillbilly needs to get back to using his hands. I have the biggest opportunity of my young career ahead of me. On August 26th I will fight for Bellator Fighting Championships at the Kansas City Power & Light District. My opponent will be John Ott. John handed me my first professional loss by choking me unconscious in Oklahoma City. I of course refused to tap to a rear naked choke being as it was only one minute into the first round. I figured I would give the fans something to remember me by. When the Fight Doc woke me up and asked, “Brian, you didn’t tap. Did you mean to tap?” My logical response was, “I didn’t drive all the way to Oklahoma to fucking tap!” Now that’s honest.
Making this fight even more interesting is the fact that I tend bar at the Power & Light District. I moonlight on the weekends at PBR Big Sky, a country themed nightclub. All of my coworkers will be on hand looking down from the upper level as I entertain my community. Oh how I love to entertain my community. Throughout my life, whenever I haven’t been working with my hands, I have been running my mouth. Sometimes I mix em in together. The best part about fighting is: If you win in exciting fashion, then they hand you a microphone. Let’s party!
While most fighters fight because of their upbringing some choose the path for other reasons.