“I moved to New Mexico to initially train at Jackson-Wink MMA, but when I was a little kid, I promised my mom I would go to college,” said the dutiful son, who struggled to a 1-4 record in five middleweight appearances after winning his promotional debut at light heavyweight. “I didn’t want to in that moment, but I promised her that I would, so I did both simultaneously.
“I was in the gym throughout my entire college experience because I was very dedicated and focused, so every day was more of a rush because I was trying to get through college to move on and become a professional,” continued Wright, who has earned each of his 12 careers wins by stoppage, 11 in the first round. “For anyone I would tell coming up, if they’re in college and want to do something outside of it as well, if you choose college and don’t like it, don’t stick around.
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“Either do it and enjoy it or don’t do it at all.”
You could argue that philosophy carries over to Wright and his professional career as well, as despite his struggles, he remains in love with martial arts and the requirements of his job being to train, get better, and compete.
And with this move back to the light heavyweight division, he believes he’ll finally be able to give a full and proper accounting of himself inside the Octagon, and make good on that last remaining promise he made his mother.
“I’m losing around 30 pounds heading into every one of these fights, and I never feel fully there on fight night,” Wright said when asked about relocating to the 205-pound ranks, explaining that the weight loss is split between dieting and his cut. “One of my best performances was my short-notice debut where I fought at 205 (pounds) and didn’t have to do a weight cut.
