VETERAN mixed martial arts fighter Jesse Medina believes he still has plenty left in the tank and there are too many good opportunities to pass up.
The 32-year-old submission specialist is locked in to face Japanese fighter Shoichi Tomita in his Australian debut in March.
The professional lightweight bout has been added to the Beatdown Promotions 6 card scheduled for March 9 in Eatons Hill, Queensland.
The Mildura MMA fighter is coming from back-to-back losses and a spell recuperating from injuries, however both bouts went the distance and were decided on judges’ points.
“Funky Cold” was considered unlucky by some in his Diamondback Championship lightweight title contest in July against Tom Rogers, but the man himself believes a few tweaks on fight night can help improve his 16-13 record.
“I reckon the time off helped a bit, unfortunately the bit of an injury I got from that kept me out longer than expected,” he said.
“The last couple of fights have been competitive and it’s come down to points, I probably just need to tweak a few things just to ensure I’m 100 per cent there mentally.
“After a couple of losses, I’m ready to show that I still have good fights left in me before I eventually call it quits.”
Tomita, a 35-year-old from Mie, Japan, holds a 9-2 record but his battle with Medina will be his first pro fight in over two years after last defeating Kouki Nakagawa via unanimous decision in January 2022.
Medina said facing a man of Tomita’s experience and pedigree is a huge opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“When I was approached about this fight, I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’,” he said.
“He’s 9-2 and fought with some big promotions before, and I see this as a great opportunity and a good way to test myself against different styles of fighting.
“I’ll get pretty heavy into the research now and see what kind of style he brings to the table.”
Medina said he also wanted to experience the Queensland-based Beatdown Promotions, one of rising fight promotions in the country.
“It’s a fairly new promotion but one of the guys running it is a former UFC fighter and by all reports, he looks after the guys really well and it seems to be a really professionally run organisation,” he said.
