Who knows the real reason where individuals pick fighting as a profession. Is there even a real reason? Take Brooklyn’s Brandon Urquijo (2-0) for instance. He hasn’t the easiest path in life but makes no excuses and instead turned anything negative he came across into a positive. Now he finds himself an undefeated professional MMA athlete who in just his third fight, is competing for Ring of Combat gold. Not too many can make a claim such as this or would even be ready in just a handful of fights but as we said, Urquijo only sees the upside in things as he writes his own story.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Brandon came from a small family where his mother would pass away when he was only four years old and his father would spend most of his childhood and early teenage years in prison for drug trafficking. Thankfully his grandfather would step up and take Brandon in along with his older brother. It would seem from a very early age nothing was going to be easy for young Urquijo. “Needless to say, I did not grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth and while there was by no means a lack of love in my household there was definitely room for more guidance growing up,” said Brandon.
When he was a teenager, things started to move quick for the young fighter to be. At 14, his grandfather moved upstate but Brandon stayed in Brooklyn. Never with a set roof over his head, Brandon would bounce around places from his uncles, to his father who had been released from jail, to the floors and couches of friends. During his time in highschool he would do a little bit of boxing and wrestling but he found himself moving towards the wrong crowd. “Growing up, I kind of gravitated towards the wrong group of people. Got myself involved with a gang, selling drugs, and kind of made fighting a normal thing for me,” said Brandon.
One lesson Brandon learned the hard way is a street fight is never over. You may have got the upper hand one day but payback is always right around the corner. “One kid I fought, three-four months [prior] ran up behind me and cracked my head open with a metal pipe. I managed to fight him off until a family drove by and threatened to call the police scaring the kid off.” That is one experience Brandon will literally wear for the rest of his life as he still bears the scar of eight stitches needed to close the wound.
Despite the wakeup call, Brandon maintained that lifestyle for an additional year before becoming a first time father to his son, Jayvien. “That was a complete game changer for me and helped me realize that there are far more important things than walking around with a chip on your shoulder trying to fight the world,” said Brandon. “I eventually left that life all together and was led to Brooklyn MMA by an old high school friend who would eventually be the person I lived with for the last 4 years with,” he continued. It was this friend that became more like a brother to Brandon and gave him the time needed to save money to rent a one bedroom apartment in Bensonhurst and getting his life together in the overall process.
After going undefeated as an amateur and winning a few grappling tournaments, Brandon would make his pro MMA debut in 2015 at Ring of Combat 52 where he would take home the win via unanimous decision. Those that were anxious to see this new kid on the block would have to wait for almost two years before Urquijo would step back into the cage. He would make his long awaited return in February of 2017 at Ring of Combat 58 where he would win again via unanimous decision. It wasn’t a lack of love for fighting that kept him idle for so long, it was Brandon being a father first, fighter second. “As I mentioned before, I have a very small family,” said Brandon. “A lot of which that don’t live in Brooklyn so I don’t have the most help in the world when it comes to my son. Me and his mother do a phenomenal job co-parenting, but between juggling a 9-5 to support myself and my son, a fight career, and just being there for my son it became difficult to balance everything out,” he continued.
Another reason for keeping Brandon on the side lines is he is a firm believer in the old saying, “if you’re going to do something, do it right.” That is good advice for anyone looking to get into the fight game. “With MMA you absolutely have to be all in,” said Brandon. “The fight game is not something you can half ass. I’m far too talented to do myself a disservice and get in there without knowing in my heart I did my all to prepare. So over the course of the last year my schedule between working and picking up my son from school I simply could not uphold a training schedule that I would consider sufficient for a pro training camp. Fortunately, things have fell into place for me perfectly and I have the freedom to not only train full time, but also spend the same amount of time with my son,” he continued.
“Honestly, ever since I found MMA I’ve become a lot more low key. I use to love going out and partying and I still do go out every now and then after a fight, but these days any free time I have is with my son or just chilling out at home playing video games. If I’m not playing Minecraft with my little guy, I’m playing something like Final Fantasy or Horizon Zero Dawn. I’m a big RPG nerd on the low,” Brandon continued.
Brandon now calls his second home Brooklyn MMA where he is a Team Terry fighter and his coaches are Terry Gold (MMA), Aldo Oranvil (Grappling) and Joel Vasquez (Striking). One common denominator every fighter wants is a solid team behind him and Brandon gets that with Brooklyn MMA. It was this solid foundation that prepared him for his return to the cage. Anyone who felt Brandon would have any ring rust to wear off…well they were wrong.
“This last fight, everything went as expected. I don’t believe in ring rust,” he said. That’s just a premeditated excuse people make for a loss or a poor performance. There are very few feelings that compare to being under those lights and being able to perform in front of a crowd. That energy whether they boo you or cheer you is truly indescribable and I thrive on it,” he finished.
Brandon now fights for the prestigious Ring of Combat Bantamweight Title when he meets fellow undefeated fighter William Elliot (2-0) at ROC 59. By now everyone knows that once you hold a ROC title, you are on tUFC’s radar and Brandon is no exception. He is still bringing that mental toughness with him into this training camp but when you ask him, he’ll tell you he brings that to every training camp. “Every fight camp for me is intense,” said Brandon. “The only difference here is I started getting my body ready a little bit earlier then I would usually. The mentality is definitely feeling a lot more sharp, a lot more confident. I just visualize that gold belt at the end of this training camp,” he continued.
When asked who he would like to give a shout-out to, Brandon took the opportunity the name the following in his own words:
“Huge shout out to my team at Brooklyn MMA. Coach Terry, Aldy, Joel. All my training partners who keep the energy high at all times on the mat. My sponsor Dream Elite (dreamelitepro.com). And all my supporters who have been riding with me from the very beginning. You guys have been packing out every single venue I’ve fought at and I cannot thank you all enough. June 2nd, I will do it again. Absolutely cannot wait.”
For Brandon, the story is just starting and he’s the man behind the pen. Let’s see what he writes down come June 2nd.
See Brandon Urquijo take on William Elliot for the vacant Ring of Combat Bantamweight title Friday, June 2nd at ROC 59 in the showroom of the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Tickets are available online at the ROC website, the Tropicana box office or any TicketMaster outlet. ROC events have a history of selling out so get your tickets today!