Interview With Lyttle

Fighter profile of Jamal Lyttle by Doc Dannis

The other day I sat down and had a Q&A with a very bright young star and also a member of my own camp, Jamal "Jabs" Lyttle. We discussed his past accomplishments, his transition to mma, his last fight, and what he believes the future holds for him in the sport. Doc: "Glad you could come in on your day off." Lyttle: "Yeah, anytime!" Doc: "Let me start things off by congratulating you on your win against Johnny Barkley a few days ago at PSE23!" Lyttle: "Haha, yeah my opponent had a ridiculous chin! Haven't seen anyone eat shots like that and keep walking forward,
props to him, the guy is tough as nails" Doc: "Which brings me to my next question, people call you a point fighter who chooses to out strike your opponent and keep the
fight on the feet without taking too many big risks, what do you got to say about that?" Lyttle: "Well honestly, in that last fight I hit that guy with some big shots, I heard the entire crowd gasp multiple times and over the
course of our fight I felt like I hurt him a lot! I swear I heard something crack but the guy had a granite chin and never quit,
it was a scrap and that's what I got into the sport for! My opponent before him (Giovanni) was a scary matchup for me as he was a very well
decorated boxer with dangerous ground and pound. He had a chin on him too! I had to be a little more precise and cautious in that fight
because he had multiple weapons and I may have slightly overestimated his striking and was a bit too cautious through the fight.
I plan on finishing my opponents but I'm not going to be reckless and walk into something stupid." Doc: "All good points, may I add that both fighters had more mma experience than you as well." Lyttle: "True, I do have a ton of ammy boxing matches under my belt though, if the fight stays standing, I am in my element." Doc: "Speaking of belt, have you given the any thought about the inaugural 145 lb title belt for PSE?" Lyttle: "Not a whole lot honestly, I would love to fight for the belt but I haven't talked to anyone at PhoQus or been
contacted about a title bout but I'm sure my name will come up when they decide to bring the belt, if not for the inaugural bout
I would at least hope to get a shot at whoever wins it." Doc: "Let's go back for a minute." Lyttle: "K?" Doc: "You were a golden glove winner in the state of Washington as a teen, you spent about a year on the US Olympic boxing team, you had
everything set in stone and had the perfect path chosen to become a professional boxer. Why mma? Why the sudden change of heart?" Lyttle: "Boxing was always what I wanted, since I was 11 I remember signing up for boxing and being so excited! I would spend hours
watching highlights of Ali, Jones Jr., and Floyd, just studying. It wasn't until I chose to take some time off from the Olympic team
that I found wrestling. I started going to WSU and was going to the local boxing gym but all my buddies were going to wrestling practice
all the time. The first time I walked in I got yelled at because I wasn't supposed to be there, I told them I was interested in the team
and I wanted to learn, the rest was history. They let me practice with them the rest of that year and let me walk onto the team the following year." Doc: So why mma? Lyttle: I already grew up learning basic karate and was a boxer my entire life, when I started wrestling I started understanding there was
more to combat then punching someone in the face, the way these guys were able to destroy me the first few months was crazy. I decided I
wanted to learn more grappling so I switched to an mma gym because I came to the conclusion that this was the most practical and effective
way of learning how to mix my striking and grappling." Doc: "I know what happens next." Lyttle: "haha, after about 6 months of training and a sub par 2-0 amateur mma record I got a call from a guy named Doc offering to be
my manager and for me to come join him and his camp of fighters to come and train in LA." Doc: "To be fair you were one of the most accomplished amateur boxers in the Pacific Northwest also I am glad you accepted my offer." Lyttle: "haha, I still got a semester of college to finish so you're lucky." Doc: "Okay one more question before you go. Down to business, who do you want for your next fight?" Lyttle: "Well there is one obvious answer.. Joseph Crain just won his fight at PSE23, I won my fight at PSE23, so in my mind that's the fight the
promoters have got to make happen." Doc: "I agree, let's see if we can help make this happen. Glad I could catch you on your day off for an interview." Lyttle: "No problem, next time you're going to buy me lunch though."
Jamal Lyttle has a 3-0 professional mma record and hopes to continue his rise up the rankings, keep an eye out for him in the near future.

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