Originally slated to take on fellow knockout artist Antonio “King Kong” Flores, Jonathan was informed of a last minute change of plans after Flores was ruled out of the fight last Saturday night. Now taking his place is another individual reputed for being a tough gritty fighter in longtime Houston MMA native and recent Pittsburgh transplant Ricardo Talavera.
According to Jonathan, the change in opponents is a bit of a twist but it’s nothing he can’t overcome.
“I feel good about this fight,” he told TXMMA.com. “I’ve put in a long hard camp of about seven weeks of hard training with a lot of good sparring. I feel really good and really ready. He’s a tough guy and you know, I just have to take it as it comes.”
A former power lifter and bodybuilder who joined Submission Boxing Academy in 2006, Harris has also been spending plenty of time at Gracie Barra Texas working with world-renowned BJJ trainer Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes and team. “I’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of good people to spar with and to be able to train with really good guys. That’s a big reason I feel so comfortable about this fight,” Jonathan said about training for this fight and his ongoing maturation as a fighter.
“It feels awesome to be fighting on this card. I think it’s great that Mick (Maynard, Legacy FC owner) is on TV now. We’ve got a lot of great fighters here in Houston so I think it’s a good chance for everyone to get some nationwide exposure. For me, I hope this fight takes me to the next step. Of course all of us (fighters) eventually want to get to the UFC but I’m just happy to get the opportunity to show my skills to fans watching across the nation. I’m just going to go in, see how it goes, and take it from there. I don’t really like to stick to one game plan and I don’t like to make predictions because anything can happen in there but I do know there’s only two fighters in the cage competing and only one of us can come out the winner, so I know we’ll both be fighting as hard as we can. I just want to tell everybody out there reading to tune in. If you can’t make it to the fights, definitely tune in to HDNet and watch us on TV because it’s going to be a good night.”
Fighter Acknowledgements
“I want to thank all my sponsors: Sullivan’s, Bobbin’ and Weavin’ Embroidery, Doctor Donovan May Chiropractic, and everyone else I may have missed. I appreciate all the support and look forward to fighting as hard as I can to represent everyone well.” – Jonathan Harris
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