In his sophomore effort in the Bellator cage, "Hollywood" John Harris (pictured) is slated to face UFC veteran Kyle Bradley, a task for which Harris says he is more than ready. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)
At 39 years of age, “Hollywood” John Harris (4-4) looks to show that he still has a lot of fight left in him. This Friday, May 25, Harris aims to climb over the .500 mark for the first time in his career by picking up a win over his toughest opponent yet, former UFC vet Kyle Bradley (16-9), at Bellator 70 live at The Orleans Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Just a week prior to his fight, “Hollywood” sat down with MMA Gospel writer Matt Homeyer to talk about his upcoming bout, the ups and downs of his career, and why he feels he is ready to turn his MMA career around.
Can you tell us about your martial arts background? What got you started in MMA, and how old were you when you first took interest in the sport?
I really don’t have a background in terms of doing karate since I was six or being involved in the sport like that. I attended the Air Force Academy and boxed while I was there. That’s pretty much it. I started taking interest in [MMA] during the early UFC days. I went to the video store and found the no holds barred fights and I grabbed a video and checked it out. I thought it was pretty cool and ever since then I’ve been following it. I got involved in it locally but because I am in Biloxi, Mississippi, I really didn’t know of any gym or any place that offered classes or any way of being involved in something like that. I always wanted to stay competitive after I stopped playing college ball so I met up with my coach and had known him for a couple years and never even knew that he fought. We were just talking over a couple of beers and he mentioned that he was going to China for a bout and it just took off from there. I took up a class and the rest is history. Continue reading »
