Not very often are you given the opportunity to write about the person that made you fall in love with a sport. Dwight Joseph is that guy for me.
The first MMA event I ever watched featured, then an amateur, walking to the cage with his pink belt representing the colors of his home Liberia. He had that “it” factor that made him stand out from the crowd.
Dwight and I have spent many hours together, whether if it was a trip to the Quad Cities to watch Invicta FC and let him get some training in at MFS, or us meeting up in Las Vegas and me dragging him all over town and helping him get training in at Extreme Couture, One Kick Nicks, and Syndicate MMA. So I’m not entirely sure what to say about him.
Dwight comes from a very close-knit family who came to the US as refugees from the then war-torn Liberia although his father still lives there. One of my favorite conversations with Dwight was when he explained to me how he looked at the US as a kid. He told me “I thought America was in the clouds, anyone who ever went to America got in a plane and flew into the clouds.” Dwight has taught me so much about life when he explains how much community means to him. In the country in Liberia they don’t have power, kids don’t sit inside and watch TV, they go outside and play soccer. And to him this idea of a community means so much. This kid has had the same sponsors since he was an amateur; he takes care of them and they take care of him.
A couple of years ago Dwight made the decision to move to Sacramento and join Team Alpha Male. He was in search of what would be the best fit for him, and he loved it there. Since, Dwight has become a complete fighter and we can’t wait to see how he does as the main event in The Contender Series.
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