UFC Milwaukee: For Roufusport’s Jared Gordon, Giving Back Is Key To Sobriety

UFC Milwaukee will see Jared Gordon, now training with Roufusport, step back in the octagon for his fourth UFC fight. His ongoing fight outside the cage, however, may very well be his biggest.

A New York native, Jared Gordon has found a home for his mixed martial arts game in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the renowned Roufusport MMA Academy. So it’s not surprise to see him grace the final UFC on FOX card this weekend. UFC on FOX 31, a.k.a. UFC Milwaukee, will be the last event on the FOX network prior to the promotion’s jump to ESPN. Gordon (14–2) will face Joaquim Silva at the event, in his own adopted back yard.

Gordon decided it was time for a change, so he up and moved to Wisconsin a little while back and joined Roufusport. Now that Gordon has put two full fight camps in there, he finally feels like a legit member of the gym.

“Everything is great here,” Gordon explained ahead of UFC 231. “From the high-level coaching to the coaches themselves. Everything is done the right way here I feel. The consistency in our schedule is something I’ve grown to appreciate. We know exactly what we are going to be doing. The transition has been very easy.”

Gordon is by no stretch a novice in mixed martial arts. At 30 years old, he boasts a record of 14-2. Still, “Flash” has learned a thing or two since arriving in Milwaukee.

“I learned not to fight injured,” he said. “I’ve done that far too many times in my career. I almost had my finger cut off in my last fight so my training camp wasn’t nearly as good as I would’ve hoped.”

“I also realized that I can’t be so damn predictable all the time,” Gordon added. “Since coming to Roufusport I really see that I need to be more versatile in my approach and I need to start mixing things up better.”

Gordon won’t have to wait long to implement his new approach to fighting. He will be fighting Joaquim Silva at UFC on FOX 31 on December 15.

The native New Yorker is also thrilled to be competing in his new ‘adopted’ city of Milwaukee. A city he has come to love in a short period of time.

“I really like it here,” Gordon said of Milwaukee. “The people are nice and crazy passionate about sports. I can’t wait to get back in there and it’s going to be a little extra special because its here for sure.”

The last twelve months have brought about some change for Gordon. One thing however that has remained constant is his sobriety. His story is well-known: Gordon fell into addiction via prescription pain killers, eventually ending up hooked on heroin. That led to a string of overdoses and a near-death experience. Staying clean essentially requires daily maintenance. And giving back.

“I have to help other people,” explained Gordon. “If I don’t then I will lose what was so freely given to me. You have to give it away to keep it. If I forget that and don’t help others than I won’t keep my sobriety intact.”

Jared Gordon faces Joaquim Silva at UFC on FOX 31 (UFC Milwaukee) this Saturday, December 15 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The fight airs as part of the televised prelims on Fox Sports 1.