PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Football is likely the most popular sport among young boys in the Pine Belt.
But one 10-year-old is quickly rising in the ranks of another contact sport: mixed martial arts.
Landry Papis has goals of making it all the way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon, and according to his coaches at Graham MMA in Petal, he’s on the right track.
“That’s his goal already,” Coach Eric Graham said. “He wants to fight MMA. He wants to make it to the UFC.”
Papis has been training for three years and has already become a bit of a gold-medal collector with frequent finishes at the top of the podium.
Ironic, since Papis said he was unsure about Mixed Martial Arts training after his father introduced him to the sport.
“I didn’t like it at first,” Papis said. “I just really wanted to sit on the couch.”
But once Papis got going, he proved to be a fast learner
“It’s all him,” Graham said. “He wants to do this. I can tell. He wants to box. He wants to compete. He wants to learn.
“He started off training ju-jitsu, which is kind of what we recommend. They get a good base in how to grapple and how to control somebody’s body and stuff like that. So, he caught on to that quick.”
Papis is now a grey belt, and has since incorporated both boxing and kick-boxing into his training.
“He’s got a good top game,” Graham said. “He’s got good takedowns. Some people just have a mind for it and catch on to it.
“It’s rare that you find somebody that is a good athlete, has the work ethic, and has the ability to catch onto the techniques really well.”
Practice has paid off with various techniques to force an opponent to submit during combat.
“Rear-naked choke. Armbar. Americano,” Papis said. “That’s really all my favorites.”
Papis and Graham hope those skills translate into another finish atop the podium in September.
Papis will be competing to win a designation as Youth Athlete of the Year during a campaign run by Colossal, a fundraising organization.
The campaign, which is tied to raising funds to fight cancer, also is affiliated with Sports Illustrated, 3 Brand, The V Foundation and Why Not You Foundation.
The YAOTY designation, which comes with a $25,000 prize, is based on voting online.
For more information and to cast a vote for Papis, please click HERE.
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