Matthews resident Bryan Battle climbing ranks in UFC

MATTHEWS, N.C. ( CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE ) — When it comes to combat fighting, it is usually not a sport that naturally gravitates to one in their young years.

That’s true for Maryland native-turned-North Carolina resident Bryan Battle.

Battle growing up had a peak interest to start, but now turned it into a full-time gig, with plenty of promise on the horizon.

“I was a big football guy, big basketball guy played football and basketball in high school, became a fan of MMA while I was in high school, but I was homeschooled so it’s like I couldn’t wrestle,” Battle said.

Shortly after high school, Battle stepped into the cage, raw and inexperienced, but full of potential, further confirming his spot in the sport.

“I started training late. Like I was 21 when I started, initially I was like ‘Okay, I’ll fight until I lose a fight and then after that, I’ll be a responsible adult and do regular stuff’.  By the time I had my second loss, I won eight in a row and became one of the top-ranked amateurs in two weight divisions in the country. So by that point in time, I was like ‘Yeah, I think this is what I need to be doing’.

Now a full-time UFC  welterweight pro, Battle logs serious hours at Carolina Combat Sports under the close watch of long-time coach and owner Tom Ziegler, as he learns more each day about life at the professional level.

“Your first experience is just going to be crazy regardless. If you can win good for you, I didn’t, I got kicked in the head. So it’s just one of those things, just like what adjustments can I make to do better, just getting more serious with diet and figuring out ways to train harder, being more intentional about the training.”

The work is paying off as Battle holds an 11-2 pro record, including 5-1-1 in the UFC, as Battle eyes his second fight of the year at the end of September at UFC Paris, a big step as part of much loftier goals in the cage.

“What’s the point of training combat sports if you’re going to be afraid of another person? I didn’t start training so that I can pick and choose who I’m going to fight. I want to be able to beat the best guys in the world. So, it’s like all right, how do I get to that level?”

“The Butcher”, what Battle is more commonly known by, has gone from buzz cuts to his notable blonde hair, which started back during an eight-fight winning streak.

As long as the wins keep coming, the blonde and the butcher are here to stay in UFC.

“That’s kind of like the new thing. I haven’t lost since I went blonde so I’ll rock that for however long,” Battle said. “The fans mess with this. So now I’m blonde, I’m the butcher, I’m killing everybody. We’re just going to keep on killing everybody.”

Battle is continuing to work ahead of his September 28 UFC Paris fight.

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