Jamaican UFC fighter Randy Brown delivers inspiring message

The 30-year-old US native, fighting under the Jamaican banner, performed a one-armed rear choke submission in the first round to record his 13th win from 17 fights. 

In that now famous post-fight interview of his most recent triumph, which was laced with the Jamaican vernacular, Brown quickly became a household name among Jamaicans all over the world.

In one of his latest interviews since that epic display in the Octagon, Brown delivered a few inspiring messages that is sure to expand his growing fan base.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of goal you are pursing if you do it wholeheartedly you will succeed. If you put your all into it, if you really work hard and cut no corners at all and give it 100 percent, you will succeed,” he said on the Kevon Godfrey Youth Empowerment Programme, an online show hosted by Pastor Ricardo Edwards, who was one of his coaches at his Jamaica alma mater, Old Harbour High.

During the dialogue which lasted for roughly 45 minutes, Brown was ‘down to earth’ and inspiring as he chronicled his journey from Big Pond, a flood-prone community approximately three miles north of Old Harbour, to rising sport star.

Despite the challenges while growing up in Big Pond, Brown said he would not trade anything in the world for the values and life-long lessons it taught him, crediting much of those teachings to his current achievements.

He reflected on his return to Queens in the United States at age 15, calling it a culture shock of some sort even though he described his re-entry as a “seamless transition”.

Walking through giant metal detectors at the Jamaica High School, a secondary institution of mostly children of Caribbean heritage was an eye opener for him, he said, as it took some time getting accustomed to such security apparatus in a school. The school was founded in 1892, but closed permanently by the state in 2014 because of high crimes and poor academic performance.

“It was quote on quote bad school supposedly… but I don’t think there are any bad schools I just think it’s just bad economics,” he reasoned.

Throughout the conversation Brown’s message was consistent, filled with plenty universal truths which had those tuning in impressed by his high level-headedness.

He tells the audience of his innate athletic prowess, running track and field at Davis Primary before evolving into a proficient basketball player during his time at Old Harbour High where he represented the junior team.

Upon his return to the US, Brown became attracted to boxing before transitioning to mixed martial arts or MMA for short – a choice that “my mother wasn’t too happy about initially, but she’s proud of me now”.

“The fact that I don’t have to rely on a teammate,” attracted him to the sport.

“It’s always me. Ultimately I can’t blame nobody else,” he said in response to question posed by Old Harbour News. “So if something goes wrong I can’t blame my coach, I can’t look left and I can’t look right.

“I have to wake up in the mornings and push myself,” added the six-foot three-inch Jamaican, who is inspired by fellow UFC star  Anderson Silva of Brazil with whom much comparison is made in terms of their physical stature and fighting style.

“The coach is there to guide me but it’s ultimately left up to me. It’s not so much about the opponents it’s mostly about if you can master yourself. (And) if you can master yourself and be discipline you can beat anybody in the world.”

He recalled how he had to quickly overcome butterflies during his professional debut in 2014, a fight he won via submission in the first round against Steve Tyrrell.

“I did start out nervous, but the training and the work that I put in is what gives me confidence,” Brown said. “When you work hard that’s where the confidence comes from. Nervousness only stays with you when you know you never put in the work, you know you cut some corners, you kind of lying to yourself a bit.”

Considered among the most dangerous sports, MMA has had its fair share of criticism, but Brown is acutely aware of its dangers. Referencing his own experiences garnered in the sport, he gave this advice to those thinking about quitting in pursuit of whatever aspirations they set out to achieve.

“For somebody who wants to give up, just remember this: look behind you and look how far you have come. If you are willing to give up everything and erase the road you have walked and where you have reached now… if all of that was worthless then OK and give up and put that focus into something else. But if you value anything in that then it’s not worth giving up, trust me,” said the man nicknamed ‘Rude Boy’.

He continued: “If you focus on your craft there will be more highs than lows. The lows will always be part of the game, but don’t make the lows become too low that it completely derails you. Stay focus and stay on the grime and you’ll be alright.”

Whenever he plans on calling time on his career, Brown said he “would definitely want to go back to and finish eventually one day” pursuing another dream – that of becoming an electrical engineer, which he had started at the Manhattan-based TCI College of Technology.

He adds: “This sport is a very physically demanding sport, and I’ll advise anybody who is inspired to do martial arts as an outlet, you have to understand that you sacrifice your body a lot and in the end yes you can become successful, yes you can make a lot of money but not all the time, sometimes you have to have a Plan B just in case some else happen and it doesn’t work out for you initially.”

He is also thinking of building a gymnasium in Jamaica, one that would cater to the youth and teach them mixed martial arts “just to expose them to another way out” and give them a sense of hope.

“The benefits of martial arts are not only physicality,” he said. “The benefits of martial arts is mentality and you can use everything and get the discipline and the focus and the honesty and focus… you get all of that from mixed martial arts and apply it to your daily life. I want to be able to create that and give that back to the youth.”

And though he has made a massive transition from Big Pond to the Octagon which is bound to inspire many youth to take up the sport, having the right attitude and aptitude are fundamental to realizing any dream, he said cautiously.

“Give it your all, do everything in your power to make it happen, don’t make any excuse. If something comes up blocking you, there is another way, always a way and where there is a will there is a way. Don’t make any excuse,” he said.