‘Dynamite’ plans - MMA fighter Damion Nelson exploring ventures outside of octagon

Mixed martial artist (MMA) Damion 'Dynamite' Nelson is intent on creating a legacy for his countrymen, not just in the sport, but also in music.

While he has been working his way up the professional featherweight rankings with a 3-0 record, Nelson, 28, has been also focused on expanding his ventures off the field, specifically in music as co-founder of Dynamite Records.

It is a means for him to give back to the community, Linstead, St Catherine, that helped raised him until he migrated in 2010. Nelson said he hopes that cultivating talented persons from the community can have a lasting impact.

"That is one way how we can give back to the community, by helping talent that we see locally," he said. "That is where I can start from and, hopefully, it can be widespread and I can help everybody else, but this is one way I see how I can help."

Nelson, who is based in the United States, was in the island recently in a bid to attract local corporate partnership as he targets a call-up to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His label has already produced a single called Cruel and Corrupt, from its artiste Lectron, with plans of more projects to follow.

But music is not the only venture that Nelson is branching out in building what he calls the Dynamite Empire. He says that they are building the foundation for other branches of entertainment, which he wanted to ensure that it is authentic to the culture.

"This is the first step because eventually, we would like to get into movies, commercials, modelling, it's the whole package," Nelson said.

"There are a whole lot of things in the background that we are cooking up and we want to keep everything authentic and keep everything Jamaican, so when we put it out there, it is represented by Jamaicans and it represents the country well."