DALLAS, TX, March 22, 2012 – “Life is a trip,” says 30 year old Chris Jones. One minute you’re working at your day job as an operator engineer operating a 40 ton hydraulic crane not even thinking about anything else and the next minute you’re set to fighting in one of the bigger MMA promotions worldwide in the Bellator Fighting Championships. “It feels surreal,” he says about his fight in the promotion this coming Friday. “It feels like a dream come true and it feels like a prelude to more future goals I want to accomplish in this sport.”
Working full-time at Davis Crane in order to take care of his two beloved daughters, Chris has never been fortunate enough to train MMA full-time but has done well regardless of having to balance his personal life with his athletic one. Going to train after working 8-10 hour days is just something he’s had to do in order to make things work. Debuting in 2008, the man they call “Lionheart” has gone on to post a 6-1 record as a pro thus far with his biggest accomplishment being the XKO lightweight title he won against Roy Spoon in October of 2010. He’s already defended that belt once and although he hasn’t fought since last April, make this sport more than a part-time hobby remains a distinct possibility for him. Maybe one day he’ll be able to focus on fighting full-time after all.
He’ll find out exactly where he stands when he meets fellow Dallas resident and XKO 135 champ Steven “Ocho” Peterson on the Bellator 62 undercard in Laredo.
“I’ve been preparing for this fight for the past three months and I’m feeling more confident than ever. This camp has been amazing. Lately its been diet, diet, diet to get to 145 lbs. since I usually fight at 155 lbs. but I’ve gained so much technique over the past year or so that I don’t think I have to rely on strength as much as technique anymore. There’s no reason to fight that heavy and it hasn’t been too much hell getting down. This cut was actually even a little fun for me even though it’s taken a lot of work and discipline. I’ve got my head high and feel great heading into this Friday.”
In short, ‘Lionheart’ is ready to use this fight as a stepping stone to get to the next stage of his career, even if it comes at the expect of taking out another DFW-based fighter.
“I think every fight is equally important but this one carries with it some added responsibility,” he says about the fight. “For the last four years I’ve shaped my life around my training and to finally get to perform on a platform like this is an amazing honor and I plan to make the most of it. I think of him (Peterson) as a ground fighter but he looks like he’s getting pretty well-rounded as well. I mean, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before or had time to counter (what he does). I know I’ll have to watch out in the scrambles since he likes to pull out submissions from transitions but I’ll be ready no matter what. Bottom line, we’re going to bring our A-games and show everybody why Dallas fighters are the best.”
“I can’t begin to say thank you for all the support and effort of my friends, family, and teammates. I go into this fight with a flood of support and the best kind of people in my corner so I look forward to fighting to the best of my ability to make everyone proud.”
