Las Vegas, NV — The Jamaican wave in the UFC has seen fighters like Aljamain Sterling and Leon Edwards rise to prominence, and flyweight Ode Osbourne is also along for the ride.
Repping the Jamaican colors at UFC X this past Friday, Osbourne, who was born in Kingston but trains in the U.S., spoke to the proliferation of MMA in his home country.
“Not a lot, but I will say, there is a gym in Jamaica. There is an MMA gym in Jamaica,” Osbourne (12-5, 1NC) told Cageside Press. “Not only that, but the UFC is sleeping on Jamaica right now. Because Jamaica breeds raw, natural athletes. Since we’re kids, we’re in school, we’re constantly competing against each other, in school. From the age of six years old until we go to college, we’re constantly competing.”
“It’s just a competitive country, man. My country is one of the most competitive countries. So that’s why all the athletes, we show out. And we swag out.”
Osbourne has a fight booked with Asu Almabaev at UFC Nashville on August 5, a 7-2 newcomer to the promotion. “I’m looking to make him 7-3. If you’ve ever seen an Ode Osbourne fight, you know it’s going to be fun,” Osbourne exclaimed. “I’m always looking to put on a show for the fans.”
“The Jamaican Sensation” also shed some light on how all the different teams and fighters handling training at the UFC PI in Las Vegas — given some of the rivalries in the sport.
“The thing is, all these gyms have different times that they train at. So it’s not like all these fighters are coming to the PI at the same time. You have one gym starts their training at 12, another gym starts their training at 3, another at 6. It’s like waves. So it works out perfect for us, because it’s so spread out with all the different fighters.”
Watch our full interview with UFC Nashville’s Ode Osbourne above.
