A caged secret - J’can fighter kept MMA career unknown from family

Mixed martial artist (MMA) Damion 'Dynamite' Nelson has remained unbeaten since making his professional debut last July, defeating featherweight James Lyons in his third fight by knockout at the Cage Fury Fighting Championship card in Philadelphia on January 29. However, his progress remained a secret from his family for much of his career.

Nelson migrated to the United States after high school in 2010 to join his mother and got introduced to MMA by a friend who believed in his talent. While they knew of his interest in the sport, Nelson said that they had no clue how serious he was about it until deep into his amateur career.

"When I just started training, my family, they didn't know I was fighting until my ninth or 10th amateur fight," Nelson told STAR Sports. "So it was a complete secret. At that point I wasn't living at home, I had already moved out. I was 20 years old. They knew I was training but they didn't know how far I really took it."

It was at that point when his mother discovered how dedicated he was to his craft that they had a long conversation about the future. While anxious about her son's future, especially as he quit college to train full time, she eventually gave her blessing for him to continue.

"We spoke about it and she was like, 'Is this what you want to do?', and I said yes, 100 per cent because I dropped out of college to train," he said. "So I am all in. There is no turning back, there is no other option. This is what I want to do. I put college on hold to train. That's a do or die.

"So it has been paying off and God has blessed me, and is still blessing me, and I'm just moving forward."

Nelson is now in his home town of Linstead, St Catherine, and hopes to help local fighters get back to action after their careers were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.