MMA; Only The Strong Survive
Jackson Nielsen
Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is a sport not for the weak of heart and mind. Day after day, your friends go into the gym to put in blood and sweat so that when it comes time to step into the cage, there will be none of your own blood and sweat shed. Over the last year, I’ve been training nearly everyday so that I can make my MMA debut as a fighter; that day is almost here.
I began my MMA journey in May of 2023 when I first began working out at Kearney Combat Sports. Coming from a background in wrestling, I found specific areas to be relatively easy to develop. What I struggled with the most was the kickboxing aspect of the sport. But as the weeks progressed and I put in more and more work, I saw my striking improve faster than I could’ve hoped. The first time I sparred, I was a fish out of water, but through repeated rounds of getting punched and kicked, I saw my movements improve and my fight IQ begin to develop. To the point now where I can say I can stand and punch it out with anyone who stands across from me. But none of these skills would have been developed if it weren’t for the people around me.
Everyday I get to train with Jose Hernandez, a 4-1 pro fighter who has been in the fight game for a decade. He pushes me everyday with his hard-hitting, southpaw style. There is also Haydyn Premer, another southpaw fighter who employs a variety of kicks and strikes to pick apart his opponents. Then there’s also our coach, Richard Barajas. He is one of the best coaches in the fight industry right now. He tirelessly studies technique so that he can then teach us and he invests so much into his fight team that it makes you want to work your hardest under him. There are many others who have aided me on the road in becoming a fighter and next weekend I get to put my skills to the test in my MMA debut.
Hey Jackson! Blogs that share more about the author and are more personal are always enjoyable to read. I enjoyed reading about your journey in MMA and how you improved over time with practice. I commend you for giving credit to those who have helped you along the way. Our mentors make a big impact in our lives, so I’m sure the three people you mentioned deserve recognition for the differences they’ve made in your life and the lives of others.
Hey Jackson! I love how interesting and unique this topic is to write about, not very many people are able to share an experience like this with their readers. I think this story is quite inspiring as it’s apparent how much work you’ve put in. Kind of off topic, but whenever I hear about MMA I can’t help but think of the Creed movie I watched in theaters last year. Good luck with your future plans regarding MMA, and thanks for sharing your story!
Jackson. I just wanted to say how cool this is and how refreshing this post is to see I genuinely is such a nice thing to see people extremely passionate about something and then see their perspective on that exact thing where the passion comes from. This probably is extremely cringe but what do you think of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight coming up? Otherwise I think this is a very inspiring and cool post to see and hope so see more of it, Hell I even recommend when we come back to do a weekend post of how your fight went and your personal thoughts and feelings.