Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Dream to fight, fight to dream: Gurdon's amateur fighter to go pro

Hes been kneed in the face and clenched in a choke hold for more than 30 seconds, but he refuses to give up no matter the circumstances.

James Bearilla Griffin, 25, has won the title of welterweight champion as a mixed martial artist at the Viking Fight Club in Pine Bluff, and is a self-promoted fighter with an undefeated 6-0 record.

Griffin moved to Gurdon from his hometown of Clewiston, Flo., in 2005, after meeting his girlfriend, Danyai Simmons, in Chicago. She told him that Arkansas would be a better place to live than where they were, so they hitched their wagon and moved to Gurdon where her father, Donald Simmons, grew up.

A welterweight fighter is one who weighs between 161 and 170 pounds, and Griffin has even defeated someone above his weight range, in the middleweight division.

Mixed martial arts is a full contact combat sport in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, including punching, kicking and grappling. Mixed martial arts tournaments as a popular sport sprouted in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, based on the concept of opponents applying different fighting styles against each other in competition with minimal rules in place. This no-holds-barred approach was an attempt to determine which system would be more effective in a real combat situation. In the late 90s, however, additional rules were implemented for the safety of the fighters and to promote acceptance of the sport.

The desire for Griffin to be a fighter came after watching his role models, Jermaine Taylor and Mike Tyson.

Although he originally wanted to box, he saw a flyer in a gas station that promoted mixed martial arts, which he says is the closest thing to boxing in the art of fighting. He soon made his necessary phone call to become a member of Pine Bluffs Team Predator. Although Team Predator eventually dissipated, Griffin still remains a member of the Viking Fight Club, which hold fight events once a month at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

He won his first fight, and since then has persisted to keep a victorious 6-0 record in his division. For his fourth fight, he fought John David Jones, of Pine Bluff, for the welterweight title and won by decision. Griffin went on to defend his title against David Lindsey, the No. 1 contender who had beat Jones.

Unlike most fighters, Griffin has not been formally trained, and his only corner man is Danyai, who is there to support him during fights.

Griffin chose fighting as a career because, he says, there is not much to it and it is an easy way to make money.

You do get hurt, but its fun, he says. Its a thrill, and it excites people.

Griffin even has his own signature slam, and when he fights he allows officials to announce that he is from Gurdon. He has even had one person refer to him as The Gurdon Light. But his brother dubbed him Bearilla because, as his brother says, he has the strength of a bear and a gorilla.

Although he is an amateur for now, Griffin still has his fans. After his last fight of four four-minute rounds, the referee, Jimmy The Aztec Warrior told him the fight was the best fight he had seen in his many years of being a referee. Signing autographs at fight events is not an uncommon task for Griffin, as he says he has many fans that ask him to sign their shirt, hand or back.

But his potential stardom comes with a price: he constantly faces the risk of being injured.

You never know whats going to happen, he says. You can get kneed at any time, or kicked or slammed.

Getting hurt in a fight is a risk Griffin is willing to take in order to become a professional fighter, because fighting is his passion.

It takes a lot of heart to get in that cage, he says. And a lot of heart is what I got.

A lot of heart is needed for the ring, and it is needed at home as well with his two children: Makayla Arnold, 2, and John Simmons, 4; and his three stepchildren: Nicholas Arnold, 6, Trequez Arnold, 7, and Breauna Simmons, 9.

Promoters tell Griffin that his status as an amateur fighter could turn professional any day now, he says. He will be put on the professional circuit with UFC once he attains a 10-0 record.

The next step is going pro, Griffins says. And I can see myself in the UFC.

To Griffin, fighting isnt just about kicking tail and taking names  its a sport.

I have no problem shaking someones hand after a fight, he says.

T-shirts and flyers promoting Griffin will be ready for purchase Friday, April 25, to top off the DVDs of his fights in Pine Bluff.

Griffins next fight will be in June at the Pine Bluff Convention Center as soon as the club finds a contender worthy of his record.

Whether it be just a sport or dream-come-true in the making for Griffin, fighting is what he does. And its what he does best.

As Griffin points out, Im just trying to get somewhere.