After being scheduled to fight Charlie Brenneman at the M-1 Challenge on Aug. 16 in Holland, Raymond Jarman must now take on USA East's Shamar Bailey.
Benelux welterweight Raymond Jarman made a triumphant M-1 Challenge debut this past May in Sao Paulo, Brazil with his stunning flying knee knockout of Bulgarian fighter Ivan Ivanov.
Jarman and Team Benelux will be the local headliners of a “weekend of fighting” featuring two days and 30 total M-1 Challenge bouts from Aug. 15-16 at Studio 22 in Hilversum, Holland (CLICK HERE for tickets).
After originally being scheduled to fight former college wrestling standout Charlie Brenneman, Jarman must adapt and face a new opponent in top U.S. welterweight prospect Shamar Bailey.
M-1Global.com recently sat down with Jarman to find more out about this young up-and-comer.
M-1Global.com: What gym do you currently spend most of your time training out of in Holland?
Raymond Jarman: Mike’s Gym.
M-1Global.com: What was the original martial arts discipline you began to study and at what age?
Raymond Jarman: I started at four with Judo and following that I combined it with Karate, namely Yoseikan budo and then grappling, Akido, kickboxing, boxing, and then eventually MMA.
M-1Global.com: What brought about the transition to MMA?
Raymond Jarman: My trainer asked me if I wanted to start taking his MMA classes. So I tried it and I liked it and continue to do it to this day.
M-1Global.com: You hit a big knee against Ivan Ivanov just 35 seconds into your last M-1 fight. It won “Knockout of the Night.” What made you decide to take such a high risk so early into your fight?
Raymond Jarman: My trainer told me to attempt the knee in the start so I could impress the world and show them I am. We’ve talk about this before and I have done it like this in the same way before. So it worked out well. It all has to do with the timing.
M-1Global.com: If Benelux can beat USA East, you could prevent them from making the playoffs. Is that something that has motivated you during training?
Raymond Jarman: We must win and will win because we have a lot to prove. We fight for the glory of Team Benelux now.
M-1Global.com: Since the fight is in Holland, will a lot of friends and family be attending? If so, does that add any pressure?
Raymond Jarman: My friends can’t always make my fights but since this is a big show and a big fight, a lot of my friends have told me they will be there.
