From Navy Veteran to MMA Fighter: Devon Simons' Journey

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00:00And before we even talk about your fighting career,

00:02I want to say thank you very much.

00:04You know, we know that you are a Naval veteran.

00:05I thank you for your time

00:06that you've given to this country and served.

00:08You know, what was that experience like for you

00:10and how did that push you into your career now

00:13as a heavyweight MMA fighter?

00:16Well, I did six years from 18 to 24.

00:20I got out back in September of 2020

00:23and there's a lot of character developing, you know,

00:26like not everyone you work with is going to be,

00:29well, good at their job

00:30and not everyone you're going to work with

00:32is going to be as passionate as you are.

00:34But, and then there's also some people

00:35who are more passionate and some people who are better.

00:37So it's like, there's so much room to learn

00:40both knowledge and perspective.

00:42And that kind of just gives you a sense of understanding

00:44when it comes to learning techniques,

00:47when it comes to fighting, you know,

00:48learning techniques when it comes to jujitsu or striking.

00:51And it's like, one, you have to be patient with yourself,

00:53but two, you have to be patient with others.

00:55This way you can absorb as much knowledge as you can

00:57from different like realms.

00:58So it's helped me quite a bit.

01:01And I'm sure, you know,

01:02you learned some of your hand-to-hand combat skills

01:04there for sure.

01:05And you had a long amateur career there.

01:06Obviously part of that,

01:08you had a big gap there between 2018 and 2021

01:10while you were serving.

01:11You know, what did you,

01:13how have you felt like that kind of long time,

01:16some fighters that get into it

01:17and they just, you know, have a couple of fights

01:19and they jump right into, you know,

01:20being a pro and at a very young age

01:22and maybe haven't learned all the things,

01:24you know, life experiences that you have

01:26that, you know, could help them.

01:27And, you know, it takes till later on in their career

01:29to really see the best of them.

01:31How do you feel like that time that you spent there,

01:33the things that you learned,

01:35the growing that you did helped you

01:37and, you know, the actual length of your amateur career

01:39may be helping you now as you transition

01:42into being a pro in mixed martial arts.

01:46Well, funny story about that.

01:47Actually, I got in trouble when I was fighting

01:49as an amateur when I was enlisted.

01:51So like, you know, your government property

01:55and, you know, it's liability issues and whatnot.

01:57So when my command find out I was fighting,

02:01they kind of like sat me down like,

02:02hey dude, like, we're not gonna,

02:04we're not gonna like, you know,

02:06beat you with a stick or nothing,

02:06but like, you can't do this.

02:09So I had to stop, I had to take a break.

02:11Like I kept training, but I wasn't allowed to fight

02:14on any like, you know, platforms like that.

02:16So it just, you know, I kept my nose down,

02:18I stayed focused and I told everyone

02:20like that I was working with like,

02:21hey, like, this is what I want to do.

02:22This is what I'm going to do when I get out.

02:24So it feels good to like, you know,

02:27stay committed to that goal in such a long term

02:30that it's been years since then.

02:32And as soon as I got out,

02:33I trained for about another year or so,

02:36and then here we are, you know?

02:38So it's been a long, long process,

02:42but we've learned a lot.

02:43So I'm very thankful for that.

02:45You absolutely have, you know,

02:46and you know, you've used that in some great things.

02:48You've been a champion in other promotions.

02:51You were a, you know, East Coast champion in the ADCC.

02:54So, you know, a guy who has a great grappling experience.

02:57Although, you know, when you look at your record,

02:59both amateur and pro, only one submission win.

03:01How do you think that you've used that

03:04to, you know, find other ways to win?

03:06And, you know, now in your first two pro wins,

03:08how do you think that's helped you,

03:09that submission wrestling,

03:10even though that hasn't been the way

03:11that you have finished these fights?

03:14Well, I mean, as a heavyweight, you know,

03:17these guys are big, you know, and I'm not like,

03:20I don't think of myself as a large heavyweight.

03:23So if I can avoid going to the ground

03:25with these bigger guys, these wider guys,

03:27you know, they got these big broad shoulders,

03:29these wide frames and whatnot.

03:31I don't want to get on the ground and use those techniques

03:35if I can finish the fight standing up, you know?

03:37If I know that I have more, you know,

03:40stamina than these guys,

03:42I'll be faster than them on my feet.

03:44And then I'll chop them down from there.

03:48But if it does go to the ground,

03:50if it does get to that point,

03:51I am confident and comfortable knowing

03:53that I have the tools to handle them down there as well.

03:56So I think that it's a cool utility to have in the belt,

04:01but I'm not going to go out of my way to use it

04:04unless I have to.

04:06Absolutely.

04:07And now you'll be using it for Lights Out Extreme Fighting.

04:09What drew you to this organization

04:10and how excited are you to make your debut for them

04:13in Sean Merriman?

04:15I'm super excited.

04:16I actually met Sean Merriman last,

04:20like I think a week or so ago.

04:22I went to the promotion for Lights Out 22

04:25and, you know, I just want to get a feel for the promotion,

04:27see what they got and like how they do everything.

04:30And it's phenomenally put together.

04:32These guys are very professional.

04:35And the promotion, it looks really cool to be a part of.

04:38So I'm really excited that like, you know,

04:40that I get that chance.

04:42And, you know, I'm just starting out as a pro

04:47for almost a year now.

04:48So like I'm doing my best to, you know,

04:52just showcase my skills on every platform

04:54that gives me an opportunity.

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