Have you ever be so down in the depths of life’s problems that you can’t even envision digging yourself out?
Whatever it is, the death of a family member, bills piling up or maybe you’re addicted to a drug.
Meet UFC lightweight Jared Gordon. And listen to his story.
Gordon, 30 told me that he has been using drugs since about age 9. At one point Gordon was panhandling on the streets of New York strung out on drugs and begging for money.
Ever see a panhandler and just think to yourself, man how did that guy get into that position and how will he ever lead a functional normal life?
Certainly, it’s hard to envision that the boss of a 4 Billion dollar company would be offering you a contract to fight for his organization after watching you fight live.
That’s exactly what happened for Jared Gordon. Gordon got himself clean at age 23, then relapsed again. At one point Gordon overdosed so bad, his heart actually stopped for two minutes. Dead. Gordon is literally back from the dead.
Just watch Gordon’s last fight at UFC Milwaukee against Joaquim Silva. The results, I’m sure are not what Gordon wanted, but sometimes when you lose you actually win. Gordon showed his heart and fighting spirit. He also showed exactly why Dana White wanted to hire him. He’s an incredibly interesting and exciting fighter to watch.
Gordon has been clean for three years. He’s now fighting out of Duke Roufus’s camp in Milwaukee. He told MMATorch that he takes no prescription drugs for the many injuries a fighter can rack up, and ibuprofen hurts his stomach.
It’s an incredibly tough life to live for a fighter. But Gordon is tough. His UFC contract was up after his last fight, but Gordon tells us that he is being re-signed to a new deal. Forget failed drug tests, venue changes, and drama about state income taxes, let’s focus on the fact Jared Gordon, once clinically dead, is signing a new UFC deal.
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I have no idea if Jared will ever be a UFC champion. There’s so many variables, injuries, competition etc. However, Josh already won the biggest fight of his life. His battle against addiction. He’s a champion in the game of life and helps others in their fight against drug addiction. Who cares if Josh Gordon ever wins another UFC fight, he’s still on many levels one of the most important fighters in the UFC today. That story and the inspiration alone is worth far more in weight than ten pounds of UFC gold.
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