In the world of mixed martial arts, it is very common to find fighters whose path to MMA was incidental or unexpected. Fury FC Welterweight Jared Mcloughlin is the exact opposite, having his sights set on the UFC from early childhood.
“My earliest memory of any sport, especially combat sports, was my dad showing me Royce Gracie at the first UFC tournament,” McLoughlin explained. “I grew up watching mixed martial arts on the TV and I grew up training mixed martial arts.”
With an early goal to step into the Octagon, McLoughlin began to study jiu jitsu, and later joined his high school wrestling team to further sharpen the tools needed to take on lifelong martial artists.
Jared McLoughlin with some of the slickest shadowboxing out there#FuryFC79 pic.twitter.com/hhB1tDRQOR
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“I knew if I was going to be able to take people down so I could use my jiu jitsu, I needed to know how to wrestle,” McLoughlin said.
The Fury FC fighter took no specific liking to either jiu jitsu or wrestling, however, as these were just the byproducts of McLoughlin’s UFC aspirations. Though appreciative of all combat sports, McLoughlin saw them as only contributors to MMA.
“The guys in the UFC did this sport, that was the only importance any of the individual martial arts had with me,” McLoughin explained.
Dangit. That would've been awesome.#FuryFC79 pic.twitter.com/7BLD0u70YF
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McLoughlin’s fight style reflects his views on the various fighting disciplines, not favoring any specific style and being able to react to almost any style an opponent may throw his way. The well-rounded welterweight boasts an MMA resume with wins that include a variety of finishes.
“I have wins by both knockout and submission, so I’m not locked into any style,” McLoughlin described. “I’ve taken people down and submitted them on top, knocked them out with head kicks, armbarred people and hit triangles off my back.”
Fury has a star in Jacobe Smith, but Oklahoma’s McLoughlin isn’t shying away from the challenge or hype of his February 24th opponent.
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