Athletes
Jared Gordon Feeling Free
Fatherhood, Mental Health Advocacy Brings Clarity And Focus To Veteran Lightweight
“I got some cool stuff to talk about,” said Jared Gordon after we exchanged pleasantries and he figured out that rather than turning up the volume on his computer to hear me better, he was adjusting the brightness.
When a veteran competitor and all-around mensch like Gordon opens a door like that, the best thing is to just step back and let them cook, so rather than diving into the list of questions I’d prepared for the 36-year-old from Queens, I turned the conversation over him and told him to fill me in.
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“I didn’t wanna talk about it, because I don’t like…” began the UFC lightweight, who takes on short notice newcomer Mashrabjon Ruziboev this weekend in Las Vegas. “I had my first child a month ago, a baby girl.
“Pretty exciting. Pretty cool. I’m happy; definitely a major moment in my life,” added the new father, smiling reflexively as he discussed his new favorite person in the world. “It’s been great. I’m in love with her.”
Welcoming a child is always a blessing and Gordon is clearly head over heels with being a dad, but fighters can be particular, can be prickly, and adding a bundle of unpredictability into the mix in the final month of fight camp can certainly present challenges.
For example, Gordon is someone that would historically get irritated if he was awakened during the night — by a noise, by his wife, by some random force — because getting back to sleep was always a struggle.
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“When my daughter wakes me up, I’m like, ‘I don’t care,’” he said with a smirk. “It’s like a switch — as soon as I saw her for the first time, everything changed. That burden of waking up and having to deal with something when I should be sleeping isn’t a burden anymore; I want to do it. I don’t mind being tired, not sleeping well because it’s for her.
“It’s been cool, man. When I held her for the first time in the hospital, the doctor was like, ‘Say hello to your daughter,’ and I was like, ‘Hey. How you doing? Nice to finally meet you.’ But then I got close and was like, ‘Hey’ and she looked up at me. Her eyes got wide and I knew then and there that she knew who I was because I’d been talking to her for 10 months through the belly.
“She had this look on her face like, ‘I know who you are,’” he added, beaming. “Right then and there, I melted. Surreal moment. Something that only other parents can understand, so my life is better now.”
In addition to fatherhood, Gordon has also taken on a role on the Board of Directors of Fightstory, a project started by former ONE Championship titleholder Angela Lee.
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The organization, whose stated mission is to be a platform “where fighters unite to revolutionize combat sports, inspire hope, and champion a global movement for mental and physical wellness,” was inspired by the life of Lee’s younger sister, Victoria, who was also a fighter for ONE Championship, and who took her own life in 2022 at the age of 18.
“Angela decided to retire from fighting and she wanted to do something for mental health, specifically for fighters, so she created something called Fightstory, which is a way for all combat athletes to have resources for mental health.
“If they’re in crisis, in fight camp going throughout it, it’s a way for them to reach out, get help, do exercises to help with anxiety, fear, depression; whatever they’re dealing with,” continued Gordon, who has shared his battle with addiction throughout his career and just marked nine years sober during the December holidays. “We’re creating something called the Mental Fight Kit, which will be a course to support people with their mental health challenges, as well as help with sports therapy in general, visualization, recovery stuff, anxiety, fear; whatever you need to get dialed in for the fight you have coming up.
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“Her story was really big and impacted a lot of people in the community,” he said of Lee, who acknowledged in a Player’s Tribune story following her sister’s passing that the car accident that forced her out of a scheduled fight in 2017 was an attempt to take her own life. “We should have a finished product by the end of February, and we need the community’s support to really get it off the ground.
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“Suicide, addiction, depression, anxiety isn’t just a fighting thing — it’s an everyone thing — and we think Fightstory is gonna gain traction, be very successful.”
And if all that wasn’t enough, Gordon is still also chasing his dreams in the UFC lightweight division, eager to get back into the Octagon after an all-too-familiar result last time out against Nasrat Haqparast in June in Saudi Arabia.
“Sopranos is my favorite show and Tony Soprano said in an episode, ‘Remember when is the lowest form of conversation,’” began the nine-year UFC veteran. “I’m sick of talking about the past, but in my mind, and where I’m at in terms of my motivation and confidence is that I’m on a five-fight winning streak right now, and in my last 11 fights, I won nine of them.”
Officially, the Kill Cliff FC representative is 2-2 with one no contest in his last five outings, and 6-4 with a no contest in his last 11, but his losses to Haqparast and Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282 were a pair of decisions where many believe Gordon did enough to merit the nod, and the no contest came in a bout with King Green where he was having tremendous success until an accidental clash of heads put Gordon on the canvas before the stoppage was rightfully overturned.
There was a time not too long ago when the frustration of those results lingered with Gordon, leaving him in a constant state of annoyance and aggravation because of the opportunities he was missing and the victories he felt he had earned were not coming his way.
“There was, and I have to because holding on to resentments will only bury me,” he said, acknowledging the previous animosity he carried around and having finally let it all go. “It’s like lighting yourself on fire and hoping the guy that you hate will die from smoke inhalation.
“I feel like there were some things that I was doing that were blocking my blessings, in a sense, and I’ve gotten rid of those things, and I feel free,” added Gordon. “I’m eager to see what life is like when I’m not doing certain things anymore that I know were bad for me spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.
“The bottom line is I have everything I need: I own my home, I have a beautiful wife, I have a beautiful daughter, I have an insane dog that is a tyrant, and I have a lot of great things going on in my life.
“I’m still here; I’m still doing it.”
And while he’s not quite where he would like to be, professionally speaking, Gordon has a shining example of how doing the right things and one moment can create a spark that changes everything in the form of his former roommate, UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
“Belal became undeniable, and then went out and won the title,” he said of his former teammate and longtime friend. “He’s a huge inspiration to me, we’re really close, and watching him do what he’s done is nothing short of incredible. Of course it inspires me to keep pushing, keep going.
“I try to take what I can from what he does to implement it into my life — fight-wise, spiritually, religiously — and use the things that work for him in my own life.
“I know all it takes is one moment,” continued Gordon. “I could have an interview or one moment in a fight where people go nuts. There are so many opportunities, and I know they will come, as long as I’m doing the right things, and not acting out, doing bad things. I’m just excited to see what happens.”
And in the meantime, “Flash” has plenty of other incredible things to keep him busy.
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