Issue 207
July 2024
Before championship belts were on the line, the world's greatest fighters were locked in their own battles. Isaac Barnett delves into the gritty and inspiring MMA origin stories that forged these warriors into the legends they are today.
DARREN TILL - FROM THE BRINK OF DEATH
Liverpool inhabitants have a lot in common. They’re friendly, outspoken, and fiercely passionate about fighting. Darren Till is no stranger to any of those traits. Once honed as the next Conor McGregor, Till’s rise in the UFC was something to behold. While he’s had a few setbacks in recent years and chose to walk away from the UFC for the time being but ‘The Gorilla’s story is far from over. Before he found his passion for fighting, Till played football like many kids did at his age. He attended a boxing gym with his dad then but didn’t take it too seriously. When Till was 12, he developed a reputation for being disruptive in school and on the football pitch, so his parents encouraged him to find another sport that would be better for his high energy. His dad took him to a Muay Thai gym, where his love for fighting began.
Speaking on the Ben Health Podcast, Till said: “I fell in love with the whole idea of fighting, sparring, and just learning it, and it just went on from there. I became obsessed.”
Till got expelled from his school because of poor behavior and poor concentration. In his words, he wasn’t a bad kid; he was just disruptive in class because he didn’t enjoy school. He only enjoyed History and Physical Education. It was around this period of his life that his parents separated.
His mother moved him to another school, and the same thing happened. The school was not for Till; all he wanted to do was fight.
Till continued: “I was so defiant. It wasn’t like I wanted to go on the streets and smoke weed; I wanted to do something practical, but in my mum's eyes, I needed to be more academic. I started sneaking off to the gym then, morning and night, but I didn’t have much support from my family, so I had an agreement with the guy in the gym. I said look, I don’t have any money, but I want to fight, I told him that I wanted to be the best fighter in the world, and then I got some discipline put in me, and I had to start cleaning the gym so that I could train.”
When he was 15 years old, he was kicked out of school for a second time and became a professional in Muay Thai.
However, his mother forced him to continue with his studies, which resulted in Till getting tutored from home to get the grades to attend college. He began studying public services and quickly realized it wasn’t for him, precisely like school, so he decided to visit Thailand and go all in on Muay Thai.
“They all thought I was lost (his family), but I knew what I wanted,” said Till. “I was two or three months into college, and I thought nah, I’m off. I got the girl at the reception to book my flight to Thailand for me. She asked who I was going with, and I told her that I was going on my own. I came home to my grandads and told him I was going to Thailand, and he was like, what? I told him don’t try and stop me; you can either take me to the bus stop or not, and the next morning, he took me and just looked at me like what are you doing? I got to Thailand, and a few friends who I'd spoken to on Facebook got me set up in an accommodation and after that, it was all systems go.”
Although he loved Muay Thai, after a conversation with an unnamed champion who had to work as a postman to fund his training, it quickly dawned on him that there wasn’t as much money in the sport compared to MMA or boxing. This was when he decided to start training at Team Kaobon, Liverpool, transitioning all his focus into learning MMA. Although highly talented, Till’s rebellious streak caught up with him, and he had a near-death experience when he was stabbed while in a nightclub.
“One of my friends got into it with a lad, and I was one of the first over there,” explains Till. “I didn’t feel it at the time, but I had a white T-shirt on. The back of the club was very dark, but when the trouble leads outside of the club, people were looking at me and my top was soaked red. That’s when one of my friends told me that I'd been stabbed, it was crazy, ten minutes after I got stabbed it kicked in. “I know this sounds crazy; people believe in God in this world, or they don’t, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw a light, but the bouncer kept on slapping me to keep me awake. Fair play to him. He must’ve saved my life.”
After his experience, Till spoke with his coach at Team Kaobon, and they arranged for the 19-year-old to go out to Brazil to focus on MMA and improve himself personally. He was only supposed to live there for six months and stayed there for four years. He became fluent in Portuguese and had his first child in Brazil. This is where his MMA career took off, and he stayed undefeated during his time there. His dedication paid off, and before he knew it, the UFC came calling.
TITO ORTIZ - THE BAD BOY?
Jacob Ortiz was born in Huntington Beach, California, on January 23, 1975. He grew up alongside his brothers with his father, a carpenter, and his mother, who stayed home to raise him. However, at age seven, Ortiz’s life would change for the worse. His dad's hernia surgery led to a hospital stay where he was given morphine and became addicted, and shortly after, his uncle introduced him to heroin, to which he also became addicted. Ortiz’s brothers also drank and smoked weed, and as a result, his childhood was plagued with drug usage within his family.
Speaking on HotBoxin’ With Mike Tyson, Ortiz said, “From seven to 13, I was living with them. We moved in and out of motels, garages, little trailers. I lived a really hard life. I saw some things at a super young age that I probably never should have seen, but my mother and father brought me along.
His mother eventually couldn’t handle his father's lifestyle, and they separated so she could escape that environment with Ortiz so he could have a better life.
He continued: “I was in and out of gangs. One of my friends got shot and killed. My mother saw that and told my father if you don’t get clean, I'm going to take your son away. A week later, he still didn’t try to get clean, so she packed her stuff up, and we left. She got remarried, and we moved back to Huntington Beach.”
Although Ortiz had escaped from his father, he still struggled to keep himself out of trouble.
“From 13-15, I was hanging around the wrong people, smoking weed, doing cocaine here and there, drinking alcohol. I was exposed to something the adults were, so I was just doing it to be cool and to be part of the gang.”
When Ortiz was in his freshman year at high school, he discovered what would become a signature part of his MMA career: wrestling. He was instantly hooked and saw early success, becoming California junior college state champion and All-American for two consecutive years. After graduating high school, Ortiz began working as a mover. It was difficult work that involved 16-hour days. He got addicted to crystal meth, which he was using to help cope with his work schedule. By chance, Ortiz bumped into one of his high school wrestling coaches, Paul Herrera, in a nightclub, and he encouraged him to go to college to start wrestling again.
“I had to check myself,” he said. “I asked myself, do you want to turn into your parents? It was hard, it was a challenging point of my life. Monday morning, I woke up, called work, and told them that I quit.”
Ortiz spoke to Herrera shortly after and got financial aid to attend college. Herrera happened to be the coach of Tank Abbott, who became his training partner. Ortiz then began training in MMA and debuted in a fight in the UFC in 1997. He didn’t even get paid for his fight, and he won via first-round stoppage after just 31 seconds.
STEPHEN THOMPSON - THE KIND KILLER
There’s a naivety to some fans who believe success comes by talk trashing your opponent. Stephen Thompson contradicts that mentality, proof that being respectful while possessing incredible skill can turn you into an MMA star. As a lifelong martial artist, it feels like ‘Wonderboy’ has been around forever. Thompson was born into a family deeply rooted in martial arts and grew up alongside his four siblings. His father, Ray Thompson, is a well-respected martial artist and owner of Upstate Karate in Simpsonville. He fought in Kempo Karate, Jujitsu, Kickboxing, and Kobudo during the 70’s and 80’s. This environment provided Stephen with an early introduction to martial arts, as he began training under his father's guidance from a very young age.
In an interview with 2worldchamps, Thompson said: “Raising your kids with martial arts is a godsend. It’s a chance to bring your kids to work. You being a movie star or an actor, I imagine it’s tough to bring them to a set or to work, but I was able to do that with what I do.”
Thompson began training at three, and because of the competitive environment, he quickly improved his skillset. His father would let his children fight if they were arguing, ensuring they didn’t hit each other in the face. He started training in full-combat karate at 12 and had his first kickboxing fight when he was 15. Thompson displayed fighting excellence during his kickboxing career and had a remarkable record of 57-0. His kickboxing skills put him on the radar of the UFC welterweight champion, George St-Pierre, after Thompson KO’d an opponent who had St-Pierre working in his corner.
In an interview with Fight Network, Thompson said: “I was competing in Montreal at the time. It was a kickboxing event. The guy I was competing against trained at Tristar, and George and Firas Zahabi were working his corner. I ended up knocking the guy out in the fifth round, I believe, and after that, Zahabi came up to my pops and said that they'd love to have me in for George’s training camps, and we were like, heck yeah, man! The UFC champ, are you kidding?”
St-Pierre and Thompson went on to build a great friendship, and through training with the best of the best, ‘Wonderboy’ was inspired to start MMA so he could be a better training partner. Another well-known fighter who went on to be Thompson’s brother-in-law, Chris Wideman, brought him into his camp to help simulate Anderson Silva. The experience he got through training with work-class athletes helped him move to 5-0 in MMA, and the UFC picked him up shortly after.
THE FORMATIVE YEARS
MMA. It's something you can come to the easy way or the hard way. While these fighters have faced numerous battles inside the cage, their stories remind us that the fight before the fight is often the hardest. The personal struggles and triumphs of Darren Till, Tito Ortiz, and Stephen Thompson underscore the resilience and determination required to succeed in MMA. They didn't choose the easy way, marked by shortcuts and quick fixes. Instead, they embraced the hard way, full of grit, setbacks, and relentless effort. As fans, we are captivated by their skills and inspired by their journeys. The path to greatness is paved with obstacles, and these fighters show us that any challenge can be overcome with unwavering dedication and a relentless spirit.
