by Monta Wiley
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has always been classified as the place where a fighter can obtain the highest pinnacle of greatness in the sport of mixed martial arts. While many competitors have achieved great feats in their careers, others have found similar success and achieved great things outside of the Zuffa promotion. Most people may remember James Krause from his devastating lost on the Ultimate Fighter Live Finale show, what people may not know is he has been competing professionally for the past five years, compiling an overall record of 16 wins, 4 losses and has done so against top name competition.
Inexperience is a component every fighter must undergo in his career as a mixed martial artist, both in training and in competing. Building an astonishing record of 18-1 as an amateur along with collecting two title belts along the way, Krauses’s continuous competing aided greatly in his transition into the pro ranks in his first fight in Kansas City at Titan Fighting Championships. Crediting his early growth to some of his local training partners in his area, Krause’s humble beginnings displays the true value of utilizing whatever resources you have in order to become the best.
“Inexperience would be the nice way to put it when I think about my start as a pro,” Krause said. “I turned pro in Kansas City, right when they just made it an option so to me there really wasn’t much of a different. There were really no major changes I made with my training expect working with a few fighters in my area and teaching each other what we knew.”
Competing in many regional promotions throughout the Midwest since 2007, his involvement in various organizations provided him with a variety of benefits and opportunities, that have built the platform to showcase his talent as he has continuously developed and grown as a fighter, competing against better talents all the time.
“The benefits for me fighting in so many regional promotions would have to be getting the opportunity to fight a lot. On some occasions I have fought twice in once night as a pro and also once as an amateur,” Krause said. “Although it takes a toll on your body if you let it the opportunity has definitely helped me build experience and cage awareness.”
Eventually as time moves forward, every fighter aspires to reach a level where they can perform on the grand stage. After all, isn’t that why every athlete enters into the sport? In the case of James Krause, his venture into hard work on the regional circuit would later get the attention of the bigger promotions. This sighting opened the door for Krause’s entry into fighting for big organizations such as: Bellator Fighting Championship, WEC, and even the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
“There’s always pressure to compete on the bigger stage. People try to downplay it a lot and I believe they are lying to themselves and everyone else by saying that fighting in a bigger organization isn’t a big deal. That’s really why we all train.”
Although staying for a short time in the respective organizations, James is grateful for the time it gave him in his journey as a fighter. Moving forward, the slight setback did little to deteriorate his love for fighting. Krause’s recent victory at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 3 against Ultimate Fighter contestant, Amir Khilla, further solidifies and confirms this prized fighter’s standing as a veteran competitor in the fight game who is here to stay.
“I would like to think I’m one of the hardest working fighters out there. I’m dangerous to anyone at 155lbs. I want to be a fans fighter, someone that is exciting to watch and always worth the price of admission.”
