This weekend, two-time Featherweight Fury FC Champion Cameron “Camikaze” Graves will be defending his belt.
A win Sunday night will further show that Graves belongs in the UFC, the pinnacle of mixed martial arts competition. While he currently lives in Houston, Texas, Graves’ father Steven Graves was born and raised in Herington, Kansas.
“I always do damage to my opponents. Win or lose, they always walk out bleeding, limping or something. I don’t have to try and hurt someone,” Cameron Graves said. “It’s just natural. It’s going to be an honest display of martial arts violence that leads into a beautiful finish.”
Cameron, with his second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has earned a professional MMA record of 14-7.
He began his fighting career in amateur leagues in 2012. After winning three belts in the Cage Combat amateur league and an undefeated record of 6-0, he moved onto the Fury Fighting Championship and Legacy Fighting Alliance. Both of these MMA promotions are professional level.
“He’s a force of nature that people really need to watch out for. He’s truly awesome,” Steven Graves said.
Graves first earned the featherweight champion belt Aug. 23, 2019, against Colin Wright. That was his last fight until 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic forced events to shut down. In his first fight after the pandemic in 2021, he defended his belt against Gabriel Macário.
“My goal is to retire in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and fight on a world level,” Cameron Graves said. “I would love to go to Brazil and fight a Brazilian, go to Australia and fight an Australian.”
Despite his early success, Cameron ºGraves has spent the last five years evolving himself into a new fighter with new goals.
Two months after defending his title, he lost the belt to Fernando Padilla. He then rushed back into the octagon cage for a win two months after his bout with Padilla. He lost. The frustration of losing the title plus listening to critics and pressure to win resulted in a 1-3 record after losing the title.
“I really looked at myself, and I was like ‘man, you have all the skillset, but I’m not putting it together.’ So that’s when I really made a life decision to be like ‘you know what, I’m going to make one more run at doing this martial arts.’ I really just stopped being a victim and stopped listening to people and stopped trying to get somebody to help me.”
Since making that decision in 2022, he hasn’t lost a match in Fury FC. He is currently on a four-match win streak, beating two undefeated fighters.
His previous match was reclaiming the featherweight championship against Justice Torres in January this year.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I’ve been trying to continue to evolve as a fighter. Every fight I’m learning and applying something new,” Cameron Graves said.
“I’m not going in there and being like, ‘ok, if I do this, I’m going to win.’ There’s a route to victory, you just got to find it in that moment, but you have to allow yourself not to be attached to the outcome like ‘oh, I want to knock him out with my left hand.’ Then you’re limiting yourself to the possibilities.”
Now, Graves is ready to not only defend his featherweight title, but to enter into the UFC.
Over the last six years, Graves has been close to enter the UFC cage, but never quite made it due to circumstances out of his control and missed opportunities.
He was offered a UFC match after he won the featherweight title the first time in 2019, but that never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing event shutdowns nationwide. He also fought twice on the show Lookin’ For a Fight hosted by Dana White, CEO and president of UFC. He lost both of those fights.
Because of his current win streak, however, Graves said he is on a short-notice list. Basically, if a UFC fighter pulls out of a fight, the organization reaches out to a fighter on the list to fill the empty spot. Other fighters have been chosen over him a few times already, but Graves is holding out that he will be selected this year.
“Since those opportunities didn’t happen, I’m doing this out of a different place. I’m not fighting to get anything. I’m not fighting to get a UFC contract. I’m not fighting to get money. I am just competing at martial arts because I am choosing to do it, and that feels very liberating because this is what I want to do,” he said.
A defining moment for Graves was winning the second match in his streak against Moses Diaz.
He got the call asking to fight nine days before the match during Thanksgiving week. Despite eating Thanksgiving meals and not preparing in a fighting camp as most fighters do in the months leading up to a match, Graves accepted the invite and beat Diaz in an unanimous decision.
“When they asked me to fight on short notice and you just go do it, it’s kind of you break those molds that you’re in. So when I had to do it (train) in nine days, I was like ‘oh, there’s no such thing as really a training camp.’ If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it now.’”
Like UFC fighter Ronda Rousey’s mother said to her daughter growing up: “You’re not training to be the best in the world, you’re training to be the best in the world on your worst day.”
“I really had to believe in myself in that fight and break the idea of you’re ready to go whenever you are,” Graves said. “That was a really cool mindset change.”
Cameron Graves knew he wanted to become a UFC fighter when he first watched a UFC fight at 13 years old. He chose to begin with Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 14 because of the average 10 year process it takes to earn a black belt.
While learning jiu-jitsu, he also took kick boxing and general MMA classes. The most difficult step in earning the black belt was learning how to pass fighter’s guards to earn his purple belt.
“It’s like one of the hardest things to do in jiu-jitsu because it’s a self-defense, so everyone is using their guard to protect themselves. So passing the guard is a challenge. I was six years into it and didn’t know how to do it really at a high level,” Graves said.
For training, Graves keeps it simple by practicing his techniques, but with a twist. He practices each technique at four levels of heartbeats: resting, slightly elevated, pumping, and breakneck pace. Most people do not factor heart rate when they are developing muscle memory, he said. Practicing under different heart rate and stress levels makes him more prepared for however he feels on a match day.
“A lot of people just focus on, ‘Ok, I got to go in the red. I got to go hard and intense.
“But you might not feel like that when you’re in the fight, like sometimes you’re not always in it. Like the short notice, sometimes I feel like a civilian,” he said. “I’m like ‘Man, you pulled me off the couch, like I’m not a killer right now. I’m just in a cage now.’ So I got to apply my techniques with a lower heart rate even in a high stress level situation.”
Fun fact from Graves: the lower the hips, the more the heart rate increases.
On the weekdays, Graves teaches jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, wrestling and MMA private lessons at two gyms for adults and children.
“I’m very blessed to be able to teach. I’ve been doing it for such a long time. I really enjoy that aspect of martial arts,” Graves said. “Like, regardless of fighting, I know I can definitely impact people’s lives in a positive way by being on the mat with them.”
Cameron’s father Steven Graves grew up in Herington for his entire childhood. He graduated from Herington High School in 1970.
Leaving Herington in 1972, he joined the Air Force in 1974. After the Air Force, he earned his masters degree in public administration.
He is still in contact with those he graduated with and usually attends his class reunions.
“Thank you for the support and good vibes that you’ve put out,” Steven Graves said to those in Herington who watch and support Cameron.
“He appreciates it and I appreciate it. When I go to Herington, I get asked when Cameron’s fighting, how’s he doing, is his health ok, and that makes me feel so good that they’re involved in my life like that.”
Cameron “Camikaze” Graves will be defending his Fury FC featherweight championship belt against Matheus Silva during Fury FC 109 Sept. 7.
The main cards of the event begin at 4:30 p.m. and can only be watched through UFC Fight Pass.