Featherweight prospect
Justin
Gonzales has skillfully leveraged a wrestling prowess honed on
the mats of Northridge High School to the demanding nature of mixed
martial arts, having rapidly risen through the ranks of
Bellator
MMA.
A notable competitor from the University of Northern Colorado,
Gonzales now trains at the
Top Notch MMA facility and has competed across various local
promotions and even on
Dana White’s Contender Series. Ahead of his
Professional Fighters League clash against
Gabriel
Braga at
PFL 3 this Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, a look at some
of the rivalries that have shaped Gonzales into such a formidable
competitor:
“J-Train” embarked on his MMA journey competing in the amateur
circuit and compiling a solid 7-0 record before turning
professional in July 2016. He compiled a solid 3-0 record under the
Sparta
Combat League banner before locking horns with Gonzalez at
SCL-AVM
8 “A Warrior’s Glory”. Much like Gonzales, “Baby Bull” had
rattled off three straight victories since his professional debut
around the same time frame with two finishes. When the pair finally
squared off, it was “J-Train” who emerged victorious via unanimous
decision.
Gonzales compiled a 9-0 record under the SCL banner and went on to
try his luck at securing a UFC contract through its feeder program,
Dana White’s Contender Series. Even though he secured a
unanimous decision victory over
Zach Zane, he
failed to secure a contract and went on to compete against
Jake
Childers inside the
Legacy Fighting Alliance. Headlining the
LFA
84 card alongside Childers, who was on an eight-fight
undefeated streak, Gonzales delivered a resounding statement,
securing a technical knockout victory via body kick and punches at
the 45-second mark of the fourth round. With the win, he improved
to 11-0 and signed with
Bellator
MMA soon after.
“J-Train” bounced back from his first professional loss to
Aaron Pico
with a split decision victory over Kamaka at
Bellator 279. Kamaka, a former UFC competitor, was coming off
an emphatic unanimous decision victory over
John de
Jesus in his Bellator debut. Gonzales engaged in a competitive
battle with his opponent ahead of a split decision victory.
Gonzales is a hard man to put away. The Colorado native is
currently on a two-fight losing skid, part of his only three
professional losses, all of which have come by unanimous decisions.
Before the rough patch, he engaged in a three-round encounter
against Fisher at
Bellator 287.. Leading up to the bout, Fisher was undefeated in
six fights, with five wins and one no-contest. However, he could
not leverage the momentum in the clash against Gonzales, losing a
decision by scores of 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.