To say that I was naturally talented at fighting would be a huge, fat lie. I took me years and years to get where I am at today. Yes, that included the hard knocks of losing many times before finally becoming victorious.  The key ingredients that got me to where I am today were persistence, a good work ethic, and a winning mindset.

High School Wrestling:

My early high school wrestling years were not very successful. In fact, my first year as a sophomore ended with a 4 – 21 record. Three of those were forfeits due to the other team not having an opponent for me.

I refused to quit and went through my junior year with a new attitude. Although I was much improved, my season still finished at 8 – 15.

By my senior year, I finished at 16-8 and went to the State Championships. I went down in the first round due to quitting on myself before the match was over. I was losing my match 13-8 with about a minute to go when I quit trying to win.  I could have kept trying to win, but I decided to ride out the clock and be content with losing on points.

After the match, I was disappointed in myself because I quit on myself.  On top of that, my wrestling coach literally told me that I was never going to amount to anything. It was from these events that I acquired my persistent attitude.

Amateur Boxing:

I wanted to rid myself of the pain I suffered from my very last wrestling match, so I decided to turn to amateur boxing.  Unfortunately, the pain didn’t exactly go away overnight.  I lost my first six matches in a row. For some reason, I still thought I was a good boxer because  although  I was losing, I wasn’t getting knocked out.  One of the reasons I was losing my boxing matches was because I didn’t put in enough time for roadwork and conditioning.  I hardly jogged, and it showed in my matches.  I realized what I lacked was a good work ethic, so I finally decided to start jogging.

After losing six in a row, I ended up winning a match that broke a FOUR YEAR losing streak! I lost a few more matches before I finally acquired the last ingredient needed to become a successful fighter, a winning mindset.  During a boxing match in 1999, something clicked in my head to focus on “fighting to win” and not “fighting not to lose”.  This really hit home with me, and I was never the same after that.  In 2001, I qualified for the Regional Championships in Florida and beat the state champion from South Carolina.  I advanced to the regional finals where I was outpointed by a top ranked amateur.  Although I was outpointed, I stayed aggressive throughout the whole match and never stopped trying to win.  I didn’t get the decision, but I was proud of the fact that I never gave up.

Submission Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:

In 1999, I decided to dabble in submission grappling.  My brother, Nhan, had found a submission wrestling school in Atlanta called The Obake Fight School.  I trained there for about a year and a half before going to Jacare Cavalcante’s Alliance Academy to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  While at Jacare’s school, I competed and placed in numerous grappling tournaments.  I stayed at Jacare’s for a little over a year before floating around to various other gyms and academies.  Other notable places I trained were at LA Boxing, Knuckle Up, Renzo Gracie’s in NYC for a few months. I still continued to compete in numerous submission grappling tournaments. Below is a list of some of my accomplishments in this area.

Professional Boxing:

In 2003, I decided to try my hand at Professional Boxing.  I thought about competing in MMA, but I didn’t have enough guts at the time to do it, so I figured Professional Boxing would be a good step in between.  I ended up starting off on a good note by winning my very first match.  I needed to have all three of my key ingredients (persistence, a good work ethic, and a winning mindset) to pull out this victory.  I fought a very game opponent while having deep cuts right above both of my eyes.  After the fight, I needed a total of twelve stitches to make me look pretty again.  After that victory, I went on to win the next four out of five matches.  I’ve had appearances on ESPN Friday Night Fights, Comcast, and UPN.  Currently, my Professional Boxing Record is 5-1.

Amateur and Professional MMA

In 2004, I wanted to make use of my submission grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and fight my first MMA match.  I ended up winning the match by pummeling my opponent’s face until the referee mercifully stopped the fight.  I was pretty glad because I tore some rib cartilage during the fight.  I went on a FOUR YEAR winning streak before dropping my first match against Rhomez Brower.  We fought a war, and I still feel very proud of my perfomance in that fight.  The match was for the NFC Southeastern Championship Belt. I didn’t get the decision that night, but I fought like a winner that night.  I ended up avenging the loss two months later and winning the championship.

Which Leads us to Today:

What I didn’t realize was that through all of this competing, I gained valuable knowledge.  I’ve found out what works and what doesn’t work.  What this means for you is that I can share with you some of my knowledge of the fight game.  Whether your desire is to lose weight, get in shape, or to get started in the fight business, I can help you.

Click here to check out more information on getting started with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Boxing, and/or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu personal training lessons including my rates or just call me at 770-656-0841.