Team Iridium upstart Braydon Akeo is back in action this weekend, fighting for X-1 World Events MMA in his native Hawaii. He tries to improve to 3-0 with a third straight impressive victory. Before that, we caught up with the undefeated up-and-comer.
How did you find MMA to begin with?
Man, martial arts have always been a part of my life; I've been doing judo and jiu-jitsu since I was about four years old. It's something that's important to my family; my grandfather was a 10th-degree red belt in jiu-jitsu, my dad was a wrestler. MMA was just the natural move for me to make (laughs).
Do you think you were born to be a fighter?
For sure, for sure. I've said that before. I'm bred for this lifestyle. With all the training and competing I did as a kid, I never really thought about having any kind of job outside of fighting. Now that I'm a full-time fighter, I know that I was bred for this, man.
What's your favorite part of this lifestyle?
Just getting up every day, getting to train and do what I love. I've always been a natural competitor. Every day I'm thankful that I get to do what I want to do. I get to wake up every day and train. I love competing; that's my favorite part.
What's the most likely outcome for this fight?
I see myself finishing him. I'm going to keep how I finish him a little secret, but I really see it ending in the first round. We're levels apart in all aspects of the game. If it goes past the first round, that's fine; the longer the fight, the better chance he has of getting finished anyway (laughs).
One year from today, where would you like to be in the fight game?
I hope to be signed by a major promotion. I've been grinding for a long time. I've only got a few professional fights under my belt, but I'm ready to make that jump from the regional scene to the next level. I'm not sure where that will be; it all depends on what opportunities arise after this fight.