Representing Gracie Barra Westchase, Ben Parker (not Spiderman’s uncle) will be taking on Elite MMA’s Brian Burnham at Fight 2 Win 103.
Always a character, Ben showed up at weigh-ins wearing underwear so golden it would make Buchecha feel inadequate. Now he’s looking to add to his collection of wins when he goes for the win at the Ayvala Center tonight.
We caught up with Ben to get his thoughts on tonight’s matchup prior to the bout.
Hey Ben. Tell us a little about your training history.
I started Jiu Jitsu in 2006 under Tim Creduer. I bounced around a bit and then trained under him again from 2009 to 2011 making my MMA debut with him and Dustin Poirier in my corner in August 2011. After extended time off due to injuries and bouncing around some more I found myself in Houston at paradigm in 2014 under Igor Santos for a few years until I moved over to Gracie Barra Westchase and started working with Prof Ulpiano. I feel like under his tutelage my game has grown and my skills have vastly improved. Everyday he and prof. Ignacio push me to my limits.
What do you do when you’re not in the gym?
I work as a realtor and on weekends as a bouncer. I constantly have music playing in my life. I have a playlist for every situation. For example leg day is powered by a Viking metal band called Amon Amarth. I also have dabbled in pro wrestling – training and hope to return to training with Reality of Wrestling shortly after this match.
How has jiu jitsu impacted the rest of your life?
I’m one of those clichés that could say Jiu-Jitsu saved my life. In 2009 I was nearly 400 pounds even though I was training I was depressed and had severe anxiety. I threw myself into training with Tim and never looked back. jiu jitsu taught me how to deal with problems head-on but also realizing that brute force is it always the answer. And sometimes you have to take the defeat and tap in order to reset and look at the situation again.
Why do you like to compete?
I compete because it was instilled very early on the competition was the best way to improve your jiu jitsu. The thing is I can roll in the gym all day everyday with the same Partners over and over and over again but until you put yourself in a pressure situation with somebody you’ve never rolled with before you don’t really understand how to implement the game you want. I think every time I compete Jiu-Jitsu Grows by Leaps and Bounds. In another sense it also has taught me especially being a bouncer how to use my Jiu-Jitsu effectively in an uncontrolled situation. Unfortunately I’ve had to use my skills on the job quite a few times and I’ve always been able to walk away with none to minor injuries to myself or the person instigating the altercation. Competition taught me how to keep calm in a Volatile situation and that doesn’t only apply on the mats it applies to Everyday Life as well.
Have you done F2W before? How is it gonna feel for you to compete in front of a packed crowd in your city?
I’ve never done fight to win before. I have competed intermission only brucettes before and for another promotion. I like to be in front of a crowd to an extent but also it does give me butterflies and knots in my stomach until I actually set foot on the mat. I do prefer a situation like fight to win to traditional tournaments as it gives me an exact opponent and time frame to prepare for versus an unknown when doing a regular tournament.
How would you describe your style of BJJ to a fan who wants to know what to expect?
I kind of have an Eclectic Style. I can vary from very conservative to taking risks very quickly. Honestly I have a lot of tools in my tool box that I never pull out, things my old prof called white trash jiu jitsu.. I’m hoping to be able to Showcase some of my more non-traditional and crowd-pleasing pieces of my game.
How are you preparing for your opponent? Anything specific?
To prepare for this I basically went into the gym and got my ass kicked every single day. I would roll with people who I knew would give me very hard rolls and exhaust me just to push my cardio. I put myself in bad situations which is common for me to do in training just so I wouldn’t panic and work my way through things. I spent a lot of time lifting weights which I just recently got back into because usually I’m not the strongest competitor on the mat and I’m hoping to change that with the program I’ve been putting myself through.
Any prediction on how this match will go?
I don’t like to make predictions on anything I’m not a fortune teller. I do know I’m going to walk on that mat and try to implement a game plan and if it doesn’t work I’m going to implement Plan B plan C and Plan D.
Do you have any message for your fans/coaches/sponsors/etc.?
You know my coaches know how I feel about them and how grateful I am to all of them not only my current ones but everybody that has ever coach me everybody that has ever rolled with me everybody that’s ever hosted or taught a seminar I’ve attended they all have my utmost respect and gratitude. I specifically want to thank professor Ulpiano, prof. Ignacio for working with me daily and seeking to improve me as both an athlete and person. I want to thank Chris Stone at Kinetix Fitness giving me the tools to start eating and training like an athlete. I want to thank Professor Igor Santos for not only being a great Professor but a great friend.
Finally prof. Tim Creduer for showing me the transformative power of jiu jitsu and providing me a great Foundation to build from and a work ethic so I can create something.
Last thing I want to thank all my friends that are attending those that can’t because they know what I’ve been going through preparing for this and what I put myself through on the mats in the gym and the personal struggles have been dealing with. I want to thank everybody he’s reached out to me over the last 2 weeks encouraging me supporting me and telling me not to pull out a quit.
There’s too many people to name and I am forever in their debt. Finally I want to especially thank my friend Stephanie because over the last 14 months she has be my inspiration to turn my life completely around, without her none of this would have ever happened.
Any last words before the match?
You know Master Carlos says Jiu-Jitsu is for everyone. I firmly believe that I think training jiu-jitsu benefits of person’s life in more ways than just physical fitness and self-defense. Jiu Jitsu builds people in a better people and if you give it enough effort and time it will transform you for the better.
I want to also thank Mike Trinh, owner of Mike’s seafood for all his support.
