New LXF D-League champ Jeremy Montijo discusses title win, when he might turn pro following LXF 3 this past weekend.
Commerce, CA — Jeremy Montijo won the D-League bantamweight championship over the weekend at LXF 3. If you’re curious about what exactly that is, it’s the promotion’s developmental league. The fights are amateur bouts, side-by-side with the pros.
Montijo found himself in a rematch with JJ Buckner, who had defeated him earlier this year, outside the organization. This time, a belt was up for grabs. While their first fight went to decision, Montijo made no mistake this time, securing a first round TKO victory.
“It was quite surreal,” Montijo told Cageside Press following the victory. “I went in there thinking I knew I could get it from the first time. I thought I won the first fight, but he’s a tough opponent. It was a great fight. I’m back.”
Recapping the finishing sequence, with a slam setting it up, he explained that “I locked my hands. I picked him up, took him down. He went into a turtle position. I don’t know what he did, he tried to cover, or say something, I kept on swinging.” And that was all she wrote.
Montijo, who trains with Bas Ruttan’s Elite MMA, has been fighting for the past two years. He’s been wrestling for much longer, however. Which means a pro turn could come soon.
“Probably have a couple title defenses, and when I feel comfortable enough inside the cage to turn pro, I would like to make the transition,” he said Saturday. In the meantime, even as an amateur, Montijo found himself in front of a large audience, as the LXF 3 show was televised in Southern California.
That exposure, he said, “feels great. Honestly it’s a great experience. It’s good to do it now, while I’m young, get it out of the way, so it becomes easier when I get more deep in the game.”
