Some people train for weeks — sometimes months — to enter a cage with someone who hopes to take them down. Brent James is one such person, and as a mixed martial art fighter he said he dedicates hour after hour to his budding career.
Unlike many MMA fighters, especially those made famous by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), James, 27, entered the arena of MMA without experience in martial arts. He joined an MMA gym in Grants, NM, about a year and a half ago. He fought in his first match three months after joining.
“The first fight is not knowing what to expect,” James said. “The adrenaline that comes with it is the craziest things — just hearing that cage door slam behind you is intense.”
James won his first fight, against Herman Lavan, in 52 seconds in the first round using a triangle hold, a hold which the fighter uses his legs to choke out his opponent. He said the intensity of the rush during that fight excited him more than when he went skydiving. He said MMA fighting is addictive.
James said MMA fighting is more than just a feeling — it’s two competitors who will stop at nothing to win. Each person wants to win, either by getting enough hits to be declared the winner by judges or by knocking out his opponent or forcing him to submit.
He said in the fights he won, he did so by submission in the first round.
He said that his training in jujutsu enables him to fight well on the ground, where most submission holds take place.
But James hasn’t won every fight.
While he won his first fight against Lavan, he lost his second fight to a more experienced fighter, Derek Perez.
In the fight, Perez put James in a guillotine hold — a choke that submits an opponent by limiting either the air or blood flow to the brain. James said going from his first win to his first lost was difficult. He said he knew how to get out of the hold but failed, which he said was more frustrating.
“It was tough,” James said. “So it was all about going back to the gym and working on how I lost and how to not get caught in that submission again.”
James said he and his trainer worked for weeks on how to do a guillotine reversal. And he said that’s what training requires — dedication.
James said he goes to the gym about six days a week for about three hours a day. Along with intensive practice, he cuts weight so that he’s eligible to compete. His normal weight is about 165 pounds, but he fights at 145 pounds, which means he has to drop about 20 pounds before a fight to compete in the welterweight class.
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When James fights, though, he’s said he doesn’t think about his weight or his next move. He pays attention to the guy that wants to take him down.
“You have to focus and put all the distractions out,” James said. “And if you train hard enough and you have the right training, everything should be instinct.”
James said that the during fights, he gets so hyped the blows he takes feel more like thuds. But he added that he might feel differently after a few hits to the face.
While his wife and most people support his endeavor, he said his mother dislikes it.
“During the fight that I lost, my mom was actually screaming ‘stop hitting him’ to the other guy,” James said.
James is 3-1, and while he doesn’t have any new fights scheduled, he said he wants to take his career as far as he can.
