Fight Path: Cage Warriors 68's Danny Roberts channels past aggression into MMA success

Before his fights, after he has finished his training and gained the focus he discovered was important with his only professional loss, Danny Roberts travels to visit his mother.

They have a special relationship. She gave birth to Roberts when she was still young and later had another boy and a girl. Roberts then went on a rebellious streak during which he attended as many as seven schools before the family moved out of London when he was 13.

Having now turned that feeling of aggressiveness to more appropriate uses, he needs to visit his mother for some motivation.

“It reminds me why I do what I do,” Roberts told MMAjunkie. “It reminds me where I come from, and who helped me get here.”

That’s now on the verge of a bigger opportunity. Roberts heads into his main-event bout against Jim Wallhead at Saturday’s Cage Warriors 68 in Liverpool at 10-1 with a four-fight winning streak. The 26-year-old welterweight rebounded from his only loss in December 2011 by slowing down his schedule, reminding himself how his frequent-fighting background helped him find success in his professional sport and remembering to connect with his family.

Originally a boxer, Roberts discovered MMA when he was coaxed into classes on another floor of the building when he was doing his boxing training. He started his fighting career by taking his first 15 fights in two years, even though he wasn’t sold on the idea of a career until he has his first semipro fight.

Through that entire career, he has forced himself to keep strong memories of the difficult parts of his upbringing, which help to drive him.

“I’m not battling against the person in the cage, I’m fighting against my demons,” he said. “It’s as much about me as it is about who I’m fighting.”

Many moves

Roberts was raised in London, born to a relatively young mother as the first of her three children. His father wasn’t involved, so Roberts and his mother formed the beginning of a strong bond, and early on he took responsibility for taking care of his younger siblings.

His main issue was controlling his aggression. He was constantly involved in fights at school, which meant he was constantly moving to new schools. By the time his family moved to a different town when he was 13, he was on his seventh school.

“It was like anything I could put my hands on I was physical with,” he said. “I didn’t know how to channel it. I was confused, and it was a little rough where we lived, so I was trying to figure out how to handle that.”

It turned out that solution was boxing. When he was 16, he first went to a gym to give the sport a try. He hadn’t yet been in a gym because, he admits now, he thought gyms were places “full of animals,” an environment that wouldn’t be good for him.

Then he started going, and he realized many of the guys there came from backgrounds similar to his. And, he also discovered his athletic ability, which he didn’t know existed as strong as it did.

He boxed for several years, and he became a professional when he was 2, compiling five pro fights when he was 21 and 22. But, even as he was boxing, his coach had a message for him.

“He told me I could be pretty good in boxing or I could be great in MMA,” Roberts said. “So I thought I could give it a try.”

Fast start

Luckily, the access to MMA was not far away.

In the building where Roberts did his boxing training, MMA was just one floor above. He admits now that he had similar assumptions about MMA gyms as he first did about boxing gyms, that they were places filled with guys he didn’t really want to be around.

Even as he started training, he wasn’t totally convinced it was a sport he wanted to try. After about eight weeks, he had his first semipro fight, and by the time he was finished that night, he was convinced.

“I loved the feeling of being free,” he said. “I got to do what I wanted to do.”

That first fight started a flurry to start his career. He took all of his eight semipro fights in a year, and then he won his first six pro fights within a year. Then he suffered his first loss, against Pavel Doroftei at an Ultimate Cage Championships show on the same December 2011 card where he earned his sixth win.

It hurt him physically, with a torn knee ligament, as well as mentally. While he healed, his coach told him he wanted Roberts to both slow down his schedule and get right back into the thick of things with a major opponent in his very next fight.

In July 2012, Roberts took on Jack Mason in his second Cage Warriors appearance. It was an important fight for Roberts to both test his knee and test his psyche. He produced a second-round submission victory, and he didn’t hop right into another fight. He waited almost another year before continuing his winning streak that has now reached four fights heading into Saturday’s show.

“Mentally and physically I’m in the best place I’ve been in my life,” he said. “I know what doors this can open for me, and they’re important ones.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens “Fight Path” each week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.