MONMOUTH,Illinois- A local MMA fighter from Monmouth will try to maintain his perfect professional record this weekend at Caged Aggression XXIV.
March 22 and 23, Caged Aggression XXIV will be at the River Center in Davenport.
Many amateur and professional fighters will be putting on a show as they hope to take home the W.
One of these fighters is Monmouth Illinois native Bobby Downs or "WILDBOY". If you're from the area you probably know of him.
Bobby says he's been training and fighting MMA for 6 years!
"I got into fighting because my older brother was a boxer, when my dad got sick with cancer, I got into MMA to help keep me focused "
Bobby "WILDBOY" Downs is 15-5 as an amateur and 4-0 as a professional. He says his only loss came from a split decision.
He says he trains locally with Peoria Muay Thai and in Denver Colorado with Factory X Muay Thai.
Downs prefers to keep the fight standing but according to him "I'm versatile and ready for a fight anywhere it goes."
The "WILDBOY" fights at Welterweight (170 pounds) but says his usual walk around weight is 195 pounds, so he cuts 25 pounds before a fight!
He says the cutting process takes about 4 weeks with healthy dieting.
(It's done through) "Eating the right food to fit the days workout and (knowing) the right food to have for rest days."
"It's a process I've figured out through trial and error in (what has) now been 25 weight cuts for fights."
Questions you always wanted to ask an MMA fighter:
- Whats it like being knocked out or punched for a living?- "Knock on wood I've never been KO'd but yeah being punched isnt fun, but it makes you a stronger fighter and is part of the life"
- What toll does the life take on your body?-"You never fight with your body at 100% if you're training hard. Bumps and bruises are common, this is the hurt business. I've been injured more playing basketball then fighting I'll tell ya that lol. A smart fighter like Floyd Mayweather for example can have a 50 fight professional career because he took little damage because he was so good at not getting hit. Fighting and training smart helps with longevity in this sport. In the beginning of the sport people just beat the shit out of each other. Now fighter have figured out how to train safer and risk less injury but still get the necessary work needed to grow and become a better martial artist"
- Is the stereotype that lots of MMA fighters are mean/violent or not usually educated true?-"False entirely. Lots of guys in the UFC have division 1 wrestling backgrounds which normally consists of a bachelor degree. There's a lot of brains in fighting now days. Years ago the biggest strongest guy always won. Now there's different ways to win so fighting is more like chess"
- What kind of money does a usual and a really good fighter make?-"Pay just depends. It's always low starting out but the bigger following and better record you have, the better your pay becomes. The UFC also hands out a 50k bonus for knockout, submission and performance of the night. You get paid so much to show up and it normally doubles if you win"