Issue 120

October 2014

The latest Hawaiian to make a mark in the UFC was born into a tough family. Russell Doane explains that behind this man, there are four great women.

Russell Doane grew up in Waianae, Hawaii, surrounded by three older sisters, each of whom, he says, were far tougher than him. Moreover, with his father absent for much of his life, the promising bantamweight had to mature fast in a female world. Sensitive, caring and able to read subtle hints, he learned many skills.

“It’s definitely been all women for most of my life,” he says, laughing. “When they say that one word or give you that one look, you know what it means. You get to understand them. You learn to agree with everything they say or just stare at the floor.”

When he decided to pursue the most masculine profession of them all and become a professional fighter, it was a shock. He wasn’t even considered the hardiest in his family. That honor went to one of his sisters, though he’s reluctant to name which one through fear of the repercussions.

“I’m one of the nicer ones in our family,” he acknowledges. “My sisters have beaten up more men than I have. Some guys get out of hand and my sisters aren’t the kind to take it from them.”

Back then it seemed fighting wouldn’t even be an option. Doane was too busy surviving. “I’m the runt of the family,” he says. “My younger cousins are way bigger than me. The genes just missed me. Growing up I always wanted to prove myself, I guess.”

Flicking through the television channels one day he stumbled upon Japan’s Rumina Sato performing a flying armbar. Confused and intrigued in equal measure, Doane wanted to know more. “I was like, ‘What is that?’” he recalls. “‘I’m going to do that one day.’ Everybody was like, ‘No, you’re not.’ But here I am. I’ve done the flying armbar in training, but haven’t done it in a fight yet. If it ever happens, I’ll point into the camera and thank Rumina Sato.”

Doane was convinced he had found his true calling. And he wasn’t the only one. Other youngsters in the Waianae area like Yancy Medeiros and Max Holloway were also bitten by the bug and looking to make something of themselves in MMA.

“Hawaii is a tough place and there are lots of tough neighborhoods,” says Doane. “I used to get picked on and chased home from school a lot. I was a runt, an easy target. I still look 14, even now. I’ve also got these humongous ears that kids used to love pointing out to me. I got bullied.”

After growing up with dreams of becoming a doctor, firefighter or police officer, 19-year-old Doane decided to check out a local MMA gym. The first he encountered was home to UFC veterans, Falaniko Vitale and Ronald Jhun.

“The first day I walked into an MMA gym I got my butt kicked,” he says, “but I loved it. I started off as just a wrestler, but after I knocked somebody out for the first time, that was all I ever wanted to do. I just wanted to knock people out.”

In addition to Vitale and Jhun, an impressionable Doane also found a large space in his heart for another Hawaiian native. “Oh, BJ Penn set the pace for all the Hawaiians,” says the 28-year-old. “He made us known. We’ve all got to look up to BJ.

“You watch a BJ Penn fight and think, ‘Wow, look at the things this guy can do.’ The way he sets the pace, the way he seems so fearless. It really does encourage us to be better and to be stronger. He’s a legend and we all want to be legends.”

With inspiration wherever he looked, Doane turned professional as a mixed martial artist in March 2008. Fighting predominantly in Honolulu, he won 13 of his first 15 fights before the UFC came calling. In January he used a triangle choke in the second round to submit Leandro Issa in Singapore. Another Hawaiian stud was up and running.

“The UFC is the dream for everybody in this sport,” Doane says. “It was always a waiting game for me, though. Everybody would say I belonged in the UFC but I’d never take it to heart. If it’s my time, it’s my time. If I won and didn’t get the call, I’d just concentrate on winning the next fight.”

In July, Doane followed up his debut win with a split-decision victory over Colorado southpaw Marcus Brimage. Now, as things get serious, he is beginning to dream big again. Well, kind of.

“My biggest drive is my family,” he adds. “We grew up in a rough neighborhood and even now we struggle. There’s lots of us. I’d like to be able to take them out of the hard life and take away their bills. I want them to have nothing to worry about.”