Fighters of New York: Nate King
Nate King has a knockout personality. Charismatic, funny, and friendly, the 28-year-old pro fighter has been doing this for a long time: 11 years to be exact. We will see him headline Friday Night Fights versus Gaius Ebratt for a middleweight bout. Despite the smile in King’s voice, his journey to the ring was not an easy one.
Originally a boxer, Nate’s MMA journey started the way that many others didn’t. After years of watching UFC, he and a few friends decided to check out a gym that recently opened in his area. When he showed up however, he was the only one that decided to still come. That day, with a mouthpiece and gloves he had bought only hours earlier from a Modell’s, he was thrown into a ring with a pro fighter–and held his own. From that session forward, he never looked back.
Now representing Militia Fight Academy, Nate has learned much about himself as a fighter and a person.
He says, “I’ve been pro for only a year now, but I have a lot of amatuer fights under my belt. Training Muay Thai and MMA is very different to me than boxing–now I know who my opponent is in advance, I have to sell tickets for the fights, I have an actual camp and countdown, whereas before I could show up to any boxing tournament at any time, fight, and go home. It was a whole new realm, but it became a major part of my life.”
After living and training in Japan for seven months, he refocused on many aspects of training and found himself to be a more technical fighter.
“In Japan, we would study the same movements over and over again. Sometimes we would spend a single hour on moving one part of the body–not even a full technique, just the single aspect of it. It completely changed my style. My teeps, clinches, and knees, they just got so much better. Like the Bruce Lee quote, ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man that has practiced one kick 10,000 times.’ I am that man now.”
Beyond training at his academy, he also trains clients. It’s important to Nate to be around others who are dedicated and also love fitness. Becoming famous or rich has never been a part of his goals–rather, he wants to become the best fighter that he can and represent his school well.
“The fight game is 80% mental. What helps is the great teammates and coaches I have, because they are really my family and help me keep it together. Everyone knows me as a fun-loving guy, but I put my everything into this. It’s been hard for me to get fights. The last year, I’ve had 6 guys drop out, which can be really frustrating. I’m a full-time fighter, and I make my money from this. So when we don’t fight, I lose my income. But I stick with this because of the love for the sport. It can be exhausting to train day in and day out, then go to train clients. It’s not easy to stick to a clean diet and make myself do all the other things that come along with this journey. Every day in fight camp is like a repetition, which can wear on you mentally. Every decision you make affects your performance in the ring, so you have to constantly make the best choices. You need to be balanced and stay focused, but it is hard. What helps is having my team, who has my back. And I’ve never forgotten what I’m fighting for.”
When asked what it is that he is fighting for, King takes a pause. The room is quiet as he finds the words to articulate himself. The emotion he feels is paramount.
He starts slowly, “I grew up with a huge family. Both parent’s sides love me to death, but I mostly grew up around my mom’s family. My cousins are extremely successful, and I really wanted to be the same way. It’s hard, you know? Because you grow up feeling like you aren’t enough or that you can’t do things as well as others could. As I got older, my dad wasn’t there for me, and while this is painful and personal, it really hurt me. But instead of letting myself down, I decided to rise above. I wanted to be someone, who didn’t need any help and could do things for themselves. I wanted to be someone, who made a difference and created a good life for themselves. So every single day, I make that decision to be someone. This is what motivates me: that I am not “no one”, but that I am “someone”. That’s what I fight for, to be that “someone”.
After a successful start to his pro career with a current record of 2-0, it’s easy to see that Nate has long since been “someone” and will continue on to further triumph.
Writer: Pari Aryafar
Editor: Kyle Antonelli
Photos: Matt Culley
