DALLAS, TX, July 23, 2012 – At 28 years of age, Tristan Grimsley (known as ‘Ross’ to many of his friends) is no stranger to adversity. He’s had enough life experience and challenges to overcome to know that pushing through difficulties eventually means something better down the road.
“We all have our obstacles and demons,” he says about the subject. “We all have had to overcome them. That’s part of growing up.”
As with all things, this is applicable both to everyday life and the life of an athlete laboring to make it in the rough-and-tumble world of mixed martial arts.
Beginning his journey training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Jose Reyes back in 2006, Grimsley slowly but surely found his way into the MMA world.
Taking his first amateur fight in July 2009 against a fighter by the name of Toran James, he would experience his first taste of victory quickly – scoring an arm triangle choke in the first round.
That feeling of victory would be short-lived as no more than three months later, he lost his second bout to Octagon MMA’s Matt Hobar by unanimous decision.
You win some, you lose some, the important thing is to keep on going.
He would overcome that temporary defeat upon taking on Quaint Kempf in his third amateur bout.
“We beat the crap outta each other,” he says about that night.
He would go on to win that bout along with his next three to finish 5-1 as an amateur before turning pro in February 2012 at XKO 14 against Nelson Salas – a fight he lost by third round submission.
Just another bump in the road.
“I am my own source of motivation,” says Ross. “My son helps since he likes to see me win also,” he adds, also reiterating that being a dad to the coolest kid in the entire world is much more fulfilling than anything else he has ever done, or will ever do.
Its important to keep things in proper perspective.
He would go on to win his next two fights in a row, and the last in a much-quicker-than-expected 26 seconds, he feels more dangerous than ever, all the while having more fun than he ever has in a sport where many feel an insane amount of pressure to perform.
“I feel like I’m better about knowing when to push myself,” he says about this upcoming fight with Sidney Crawley, a teammate of Salas – the last person to beat him in his pro debut.
Splitting his time between Reyes BJJ and Mohler’s MMA in Las Colinas, he’ll be as ready as can be for this fight, excited for an opponent he knows will be tough and will bring it but also excited to fight for a new promotion he hopes will do well in order to help grow the DFW fight scene.
He may be in for some adversity come fight night but he’s used to it by now.
“I like to visualize all different scenarios and imagine my dealing with everything so nothing is unexpected on fight night.”
One thing you can expect, he says, is some Kamikaze Campuzano Kung Fu.
That and pancakes and bacon the morning after the fight.
Well… for him at least. That’s for sure.
Life goes on.