UFC 214’s Jason Knight stacking up wins, checks — VIDEO
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Success for Jason Knight can be measured by the amount of times he has to tell his kids, “No.”
It’s a response he heard often growing up poor on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi as his parents strained to make ends meet.
“All my life, my mom and dad didn’t have any money,” he said just days before the biggest fight of his career against UFC featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas on the UFC 214 preliminary card at Honda Center on Saturday night. “If I wanted to go ride a four-wheeler or something, you’d better go over to the neighbor’s house and ride their (expletive) because we couldn’t afford it.
“I know my kids won’t have to go through the struggle I went through. My mom and dad busted their butts to make sure we had a good future. You see the man it turned me out to be. I think that struggle helped me become the man I am. I had to work my butt off for stuff my whole life.”
It’s starting to pay off as Knight is living a little more comfortably now. He has won four straight since dropping his UFC debut and earned three fight-night bonuses over that stretch.
The 25-year-old high school dropout says his house will be paid off after he gets his check for Saturday night and he doesn’t have to think twice when any of his three children ask for something.
Not that they always get it.
“Never having to say, ‘We can’t afford that,’ is a great feeling,” he said. “Of course, my kids won’t be much different from me. They’re going to have to work their butts off. I’m not just going to hand out things. You see these spoiled little rich kids that have no respect, so I’m going to make them work for everything they get. But they’re going to be able to have anything they want as long as they’re willing to work for it.”
That’s exactly how Knight has found such early success as a fighter. He found his way into an MMA gym at 14 and then moved across town to train under former UFC fighter Alan Belcher a year later. Knight turned pro at 17 and quickly made a name for himself fighting on cards in nearby Biloxi.
His willingness to brawl quickly made him a fan-favorite and his star has taken off already now that he has reached the highest level of the sport.
“I’m not sure if I really expected this, but I’ve been one of the big stars in every organization I’ve ever been in as I worked my way up because of my fighting style,” he said. “I’m kind of like one of the old school guys. I grit my teeth and go out there and bang it out and if you can knock me out, we’ll find out about it. I’m not going to go out there and try to fight smart or scared. I’m just going to give it my all every time. If that’s something the fans pick up on and like, then hell yeah they’re going to like Jason Knight because that’s what I do every time.”
He’s enjoying the fruits of his labor just as much as fans have enjoyed watching him compete. Knight says he is starting to buy all the toys he never got as a kid. That doesn’t extend to his transportation options, however.
“Since I could drive, if I wanted a vehicle, I’ve bought my own. I’ve had six vehicles now and every one I bought myself off of fighting,” he said. “Before, I’d get maybe $2,400 and buy the most raggedy car I could find. I’m 25 and I’ve made like $300,000 in the last year-and-a-half and never have bought a brand new vehicle. Everything I’ve got has almost 200,000 miles on it because I grew up that way. You didn’t have to have the nicest, finest, prettiest things. I’m good with not having that.”
He wouldn’t mind having a nice shiny belt, however. Knight knows a win over Lamas would be massive for his pursuit of a UFC title, but also understands he has plenty of time left to achieve his goals.
A case can be made he’s already reached the most important one.
“My family is secure,” he said. “There’s no better feeling in the world to get out there and make money doing what I love. It’s just going to keep coming. The more fights I win, the more money and fame is going to come but to me it’s not about all that. I just like to go out and have fun, but I’m making money doing what I love.”
The preliminary card airs on FXX at 5 p.m., followed by the main card on pay-per-view at 7.
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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
