I want to dominate every fight and I want to be considered one of the best flyweights around

James Porter, at just 19 years old, has already experienced more than most. The undefeated flyweight prospect holds a 3-0 record in professional mixed martial arts. Looking at his resume, as well as a plethora of amateur fights which first began at just 16 years old, you’d think the well-rounded fighter has always been the alpha male, but that’s not the case by a long shot.

“I never wanted to beat people up for a living,” said Porter during an appearance on The Verbal Submission earlier this week. “It was more me being beat up all the time and I just kind of wanted people to stop picking on me so much. I was 105 pounds, 5’1” and it was nothing I could control.”

To help fend off the bullies and build confidence, Porter got into taekwondo at a young age and quickly progressed to the black belt level by the time he was 13 years old. From there, he got into boxing, Muay Thai, karate and wrestling and he began to put it all together after meeting David Love, one of the most recognizable figures in Indiana MMA. “It all started because I didn’t want to get picked on anymore,” Porter stated. “A lot of people wouldn’t think fighters are geeky or they’re nerds, but you’d be surprised how many of them were put in that situation young and that’s how they got into it.”

With his strong martial arts background and finesse in the world of striking, flashy attacks come naturally to the Marion, Indiana native. ”I’ve been doing boxing and Muay Thai for almost 6-7 years now just because I’ve done the traditional stuff so long, it’s really incorporated into me now, it’s almost like instinct, those moves that you would look at as flashy or hard to pull off, those are the easiest moves for me.”

While he’s capable of unleashing nearly unprecedented amounts of violence upon his opponents, Porter would much rather take care of business without hurting anyone. This likely stems from his rough experiences growing up. ”I always have the ability to take you down without damaging you, put you in a submission hold and force you to submit as opposed to just keep beating on you. I really fell in love with that too, the ability to finish a fight without having to hurt anybody.”

In an effort to take his MMA career to the next level, Porter dropped down to 125 pounds for his last bout against Jake Rosenbaum. Needless to say, the first time wasn’t easy. “It was very difficult, very grueling, said Porter. “I remember at the weigh-in thinking, ‘Why am I doing this? This is terrible. This is not at all what I want to be doing to my body,’ and I remember my heart rate getting up to 200 beats per minute. I was really killing myself to make that weight and I did make it and it was well worth it for sure.”

While cutting to 125 pounds certainly tested him both physically and mentally, Porter will try to make flyweight as long as his growing body allows him. “For the time being, I definitely do want to stick around at 125 while I still can make it because I think I can still make it for at least a couple years. There’s no doubt that I will grow out of that weight class probably within the next few years but I want to stick around and test myself against the best 125s around.”

Porter will get another opportunity at flyweight this Saturday night (January 7, 2012) in one of the triple co-main events of Colosseum Combat XIX when he steps into the cage against Carson Gainey, a 39 year old with boatloads of experience. Gainey enters the fight riding a six fight unbeaten streak. Porter, though, is not intimidated by the 20 year age difference. In fact, he’s motivated. “I’m younger, I’m faster, I’m a lot quicker so if anything, that’ll be an advantage for me,” said the Hollywood MMA product. “I think I have the advantage in every technical aspect for this fight.”

Not afraid to dream big, Porter has set some hefty goals for 2012. “I am looking to hopefully be considered one of the best pound for pound fighters period. That’s one of my realistic goals for 2012. I want to dominate every fight and I want to be considered one of the best flyweights around.”

We at CageCraze.com wish him the absolute best of luck in his endeavors.