When veteran fighter and Mansfield’s favorite son Cody Stevens was injured and forced to pull out of the main event at this weekend’s RFO: Big Guns 17 – The Exorcism card, in stepped a fighter that reminds many of “The Wolverine.”
Josh Longood (2-0) now has the weight of carrying a card in his hometown on his shoulders, but that probably won’t be too big of a deal for the 26-year-old who now resides in Columbus, Ohio and trains at the Ronin Training Center.
“There’s always added pressure fighting in front of my hometown, especially when I’m the main event,” Longood told BluegrassMMA.com. “I believe I perform better under the pressure and I’m ready to protect my house!”
Nine of Longood’s eleven career bouts dating to his amateur days have come under the RFO banner, and organizaton promoter Matt Trkovich even predicted success for “The Honeybadger,” telling fans in the cage after his fourth fight that Josh would be the next star from the small town.
Longood is set to take on another undefeated fighter in Kentucky native Kendale Young (1-0), who comes into the bout with perhaps less hype but with just as much skill and determination to be successful as Longood. After a 7-2 amateur career, he made his pro debut in September and knocked out Nicholas Rodriguez in just 90 seconds. The 23-year-old will look to continue that success when he steps into Longood’s backyard on Saturday.
“I think my opponent is going to be a good test for me,” Longood said. “He seems like he’s well rounded and very athletic, so I’m looking forward to going in there and putting on a show for everyone.”
A former member of The Fight Farm in Mansfield that produced the likes of Stevens and fellow Big Guns 17 fighter John Gunther, Longood is now full-time in Columbus at Ronin, training alongside some of the best fighters in the state, including UFC middleweight Luke Zachrich.
“Training at Ronin full-time has made me better in every aspect of my game,” Longood said. “I have great training partners and coaches that push me to become better each day and I couldn’t be happier with it.”
Of course the whispers are already starting to surround Longood of when he’ll make it to a larger organization, but for now he’s happy headlining RFO shows and getting to fight in front of his hometown for as long as he can.
“I’m just taking it one fight at a time,” Longood said. “As long as I keep going out and getting finishes I think I’ll be on the bigger organizations’ radar.”
RFO: Big Guns 17 – The Exorcism takes place at the Richland County Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 17.
Photo courtesy RFO/Mike Wrobel