The return of Jordan McColl - Living in California, BJJ competitions and MMA

Post date: 07-Nov-2013 07:13:01

1. MMA Show - Hello Jordan, Can you give the guys a short bio (who you are, BJJ, MMA record, teams etc)

Hi guys, thank you for having me as a guest. I am an active BJJ/No-Gi competitor and amateur MMA fighter(5-0), Burnley Brawl Welterweight champion (defunct). Some of my highlights are Gold at NAGA Vegas(3x silver medalist), Silver and Bronze at Samurai Pro, Gold at competitions such as Copa Pacifica, Grappling X, Tapout Challenge , and Dream BJJ while submitting ALL my opponents. I also took Silver at the Gracie Nationals and Bronze at the No-Gi worlds. I am Currently fighting out of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu/TWF Hollywood, formally of the DNFT/Griphouse.

When I’m not training or fighting, I also enjoy the California weather by enjoying the beach, hiking, biking, and yoga. I’m not a dirty hippy, but I also love music and playing the guitar lol.

2. MMA Show - Before leaving for the USA you were ranked the No 1 Semi-Pro WW in Scotland, rumour is your returning to the cage soon, can you give us the low down? (Pro? Welter Weight ? Training camp etc)

Yes, I am excited about returning to the cage. I haven't fought MMA since 2011(vs Stephen McGhee@SFC 4), and I was ready to get back to MMA. About 5 days before the No-Gi worlds I was on Facebook thinking it had been too long since I last fought MMA, a local show announced on the feed that they were looking for a last minute replacement at 155lbs(70 kg). As cheesy as it sounds I saw it as an opportunity too good to pass up. I contacted the promoter saying I could step in at 160 lbs(72.5 kg). They confirmed both of our camps, and set up the match. Even after 2 years of no MMA matches, I have been training hard for jiu-jitsu tournaments, working my wrestling, takedowns, and striking, and this opportunity to get back in the cage is just to good to pass up.

3. MMA Show - Your last outing on Scottish soil against Steven McGhee won the YOUR MMAs 2nd best fight of the year award for amongst many things a very impressive Head kick! (Personally I thought it was the most exciting fight of the year) That fight was a war!! Is this something you look for? And is risk (like your leaping head kick) a part of your game?

That fight against Steven McGhee was my favorite fight to date. It was Stephen’s debut, so naturally I was expecting to run through him, but he took everything I threw at him and he fired back with a vengeance! By the end of the match, I felt so much respect for him as a fighter and person and we remain friends to this day.

As for the kick, it was something I had been thinking about doing for months before hand. I thought about how it would work, when I could do it, the risks involved, and studied tapes of Owen Hart for breakfast, lunch and dinner...(lol) Just before I walked out to that fight I let Paul McVeigh and Garry Christie know I would attempt it, and being the good coaches they are, they laughed at me for even thinking about trying this crazy kick. My plan was that if I'm on my feet and I hear the 10 second warning, I'm going to go for this kick no matter what. I like to pride myself on taking risks and being an aggressive competitor constantly on the attack, but the risks are all carefully calculated with back up plans.

4. MMA Show - Can you talk a little bit about the World NO GI championships?

Being on the podium for such a huge IBJJF tournament has been a goal of mine for a long time, and I’m still smiling about achieving this goal.

I had 4 matches total, finished 2 by footlock, and the other 6-2 (had the guy in a triangle for 2 minutes straight but he defended well). I went out in the semis to a decorated college wrestler 2-0 (takedown). He did nothing after he got the takedown, he even got 2 disadvantages against him for passivity. I learned my lesson, as with every match that I am in, to force my opponent to play my game. I look forward to the next match, where I can come back stronger and smarter each time. If I make a mistake, I won't make it a second time!

5. MMA Show - How in general are MMA events over in the US (local events) in comparison to back home? (level of fighter, production, money etc)

I am just familiar for the shows in California, not anywhere else, so I can comment on them, but I can say that the scene in California is DRAMATICALLY different compared to home.

There is a governing body for ALL amateurs in Cali. Put in place to 'help' fighters, yet run like a for-profit business! One main downside of this is it means most MMA shows here here have become all amateur, as promoters can duck paying the athletes anything as part of the governing rules.

Promoters are able to charge top dollar for tickets, have show sponsors, and put the fights online while they make money from ads on the videos and can't or won’t give anything back to the amateurs fighters who have committed their life to the sport. Although there are a large number of pro fighters here, it can be difficult for them to find fights because there are now very few shows who want to have the expense of pro fighters shows are unable to give money to fighters, so that has hurt the scene a bit. The plus side is because each fighter is so hungry, the standard of fighters coming through the amateurs can be very high. As for the level, the majority of fighters here can wrestle at least a little bit. The grappling is pretty good, Cali has the highest number of BJJ black belts outside of Brazil so competition is fierce. Striking can be hit or miss.

I would say the Scottish scene is healthier, the fighters are taken care of and treated well, promoters work hard to bring you great pro/am cards and the scene grows as a result, you only need to look at the recent Scottish MMA growth to see this.

6. MMA Show - How have you found the training over the pond? Coaching staff, facilities, team mates?

I have been very lucky in that I have only worked with very respected high-level coaches since moving here. I've actively sought out the best coaching possible and it has accelerated the learning curve. I have also been lucky to have really good teammates, we all look out for each other, encourage each other, and aim to make ourselves better by making our partners better, raising the standard and the sport as a whole!

7. MMA Show - If you were to come back to Scotland, what key areas do you think you could implement to improve MMA over here from your time training in the US?

Scotland has a lot of high level coaches already like Paul McVeigh, Scott McVeigh, James Doolan, Garry Christie, John Nic, Rick Young, the list goes on, so the skill and talent is already there in Scotland. Aside from bringing up the level of wrestling, there's no secret training methods the yanks are doing that we aren't. The only difference is that it's just a numbers game. Scotland has a population of around 5 million, California is 38 million, so right away there is a bigger talent pool to play with.

What has became strikingly clear is that despite the volume of fighters over here, all with great coaching, the ones who rise up are the ones who're first in the gym and last to leave, always training, drilling, sparring, doing conditioning and asking questions. Training with the best coaches/partners you can find and having the motivation and desire to accomplish your goals also helps.

8. MMA Show - Living , working and training in a different land , what’s been the funniest things some one has said to you in reference to you being Scottish?

Where do I start! Aside from not knowing quite where Scotland is on the map, Americans are not overly familiar with the accent so I have to roll my eyes at the usual "Are you Irish/Austrailian/Russian...." , and once they find out I'm Scottish, they then proceed to tell me that they're Scottish too! When I ask when they moved the answer is typically "My great, great, great, great grandfather was from Scotland/Ireland/Knew a Scottish guy/drank whiskey(that counts right...). Aside from that, they have nothing but love for the Scots and they think Braveheart was "the shit"...lol Guess the one that takes the cake is I was speaking to this girl, things were going good, then she asks me deadpan... "Do you guys have internet in Scotland?" I laughed and told her we had the fastest dial-up speed in Europe, she then said "Ohh my god have you guys ever heard of broadband", then I realized she was serious and probably licked one too many batteries as a child... I love the US but some of the stereotypes of Americans are too realistic!

9. MMA Show - Finally any words , Twitter , facebook , sponsors , shout outs .

Thank you for having me. I wanna give a shout out to Scott McVeigh and the Griphouse for giving me my start and molding an awesome mentality. Thanks to my instructor Xande Ribeiro, True Warrior Fitness, SK Golden Boys and ALL my teammates for making me better every day! Most importantly I want to thank my lovely mom and pop for making me who I am today, they are my true inspiration and are very supportive.

#Jordan McColl #Scottish MMA #Scotland MMA #Scotlands MMA Broadcast #The Return