Photos by Mike Calimbas (BJJ Event Photography)
Garrett Scott Looks To Prove Dedication and Commitment Can Overcome Any Barrier To Success In Mixed Martial Arts
For Garrett Scott, aka “The Deaf Grappler” and one of the more outspoken members of the Texas BJJ/MMA community, this Saturday night will mark a big moment. He’ll be looking to secure his second MMA win against Vidal Meza in the main event of Austin’s Belts of Honorius event.
“I knew I wanted to compete in MMA for a while before I actually started (training in it),” says Garrett. After attending a seminar by future coach Paul Nixon at Rubicon Fightsport (now American Fightsport), he became one of the first students of the team upon its grand opening. Despite a vast language barrier that made it a challenge for him to learn on the same level as everyone else he’s persevered – even going so far as teaching sign language to everyone he needed to learn from. For him, it takes a lot of mental strength and dedication to train consistently in all facets of MMA but in his words, “that level of dedication speaks to my soul.”
Looking back at his preparation for MMA and subsequently this fight, Garrett Scott will come in well-prepared, regardless of his hearing disability. He’s also lived a healthy lifestyle, not drinking, smoking, or otherwise, and has always been active – both with outdoor sports in his off-time and also throughout his schooling where he trained as a freestyle wrestler before making the move into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and the litany of other fighting styles that make up MMA.
“I am very disciplined and train hard daily,” he says. “I have been through many trials as a deaf grappler, but I never let this seep into my soul, I have experienced barriers but found only opportunity, that is my daily story. I know what I want and I will make no excuses, I will only conquer.
Conquer he did in his first fight, when he beat Xavier James at Cage War in Capital City this past January. He won by RNC in the first round after staying persistent in fighting through his opponent’s strikes and pushing forward with his takedown attempts.
He’ll look to do it again at Belts of Honorius against Vidal, someone he believes is a strong Muay Thai fighter with some strong grappling skills.
“The length of my takedown attempts (in his last fighr) taught me to close the distance better with my hands, feet, and body movements so that my takedown attempts aren’t drawn out. For this fight Master (Ronny) Lis kept my Jiu-Jitsu strong and polished, while Master (Paul) Nixon worked on many takedown situations and angles, as well as head movement, while Kru Wellington Brito worked on my Muay Thai. I am confident; my training was the hard part. I have many skills, namely a strong jaw, a fast scramble, strong containment, good throws and takedowns, many submissions, and I am a capable striker. I am fearless and I have relentless perseverance, the only outcome for me is victory.”
“It will be a great fight for me and a great fight to watch. I want to do my best for those that believe in, coach me, and train with me. Thank you to my sponsors Honor Fight Gear and I Love BJJ for your support, I thank my coaches for pushing me hard and excepting nothing less from me than my all, I thank god for the power to persevere and endure, I thank my family for always being behind me and pushing for my personal betterment and growth, and thank TXMMA for the opportunity to tell my story.”
