TJ Laramie returned back to the win column and did so in his hometown. The product of Windsor, Ontario recently won the main event of PFC 10 in front of a partisan audience. TJ Laramie finished James Dunn with strikes in the opening frame, but still saw things to work on from the performance.
“I didn’t feel that great in there…..Soon as the fight was over…I just didn’t feel like I performed very great…..It’s almost like I was a little bit uncomfortable….That whole camp I was just injured literally the whole time….I could only run and hit pads”
TJ Laramie defeats late replacement
TJ’s opponent stepped up on two days notice and there seems to be a part of that which frustrates Laramie. He wants to wake up feeling nervous and scared about fighting an opponent of a certain caliber. This short notice replacement was a byproduct of circumstance, but Laramie wants to fight the very best out there.
Laramie has a victory over UFC-contracted/ multi-time TKO titlist Charles Jourdain and a hotly disputed split decision loss to UFC fighter Vince Murdock. Laramie wants to be getting in there with martial artists who are on that level so he can get the opportunities on a similarly big stage.
Huge growth in the mental game
TJ Laramie seemed to indicate that the biggest growth he has had as of late occurred within his mind.
“My biggest flaw was my mentality going into those things….Once I won the [TKO]belt, it was like my whole mindset changed.I became in my head, a superstar. Hottest prospect to ever do it….. I was more motivated to go and win fights so I COULD go celebrate and party after than I was to ADVANCE my career”
With his rise, a lot of temporary friends piled up and vanished just as quickly with a minor setback. Training partners not turning up to help Laramie any more. The cold response after one loss was initially disconcerting but ended up being hugely helpful long term for him. Laramie did go through a brief period of contemplating stopping his MMA endeavors. The second loss to Alex Morgan was especially difficult to come to terms with.
As far as having slid people in his corner, it doesn’t get much better than Tony Laramie. Tony also scored a win at PFC 10 but has had an astonishingly similar career arc to TJ as of late. A hot rise, a set back or two, and a polished return to form in the last outing. The mentality and emotions are comparable between the brothers. This seems to help both grow in addition to the regular work they put in at Maximum Training Centre.
Overcoming Roadblocks
Prospect Fighting Championships is holding a card in late-September which seems to hold some intrigue for Laramie. The thing is, it seems he wants to take more fights before then. TJ Laramie wants to stay active on the heels of not just a dominant victory but also the longest layoff he has had in his career. There was a ten-month layoff between his loss to Alex Morgan and the recent return performance. Morgan is the only opponent Laramie has decisively lost to.
“I’ve lost to one single guy….That was a bad
match up that’s it. I know what I need to improve on in that fight……I’ve never felt like my skill level has been lesser than any of my opponents”
What the future holds
TJ will be competing in the Ontario Open No-Gi Tournament in July and wants to get another MMA bout end of July or in August. TJ Laramie is also entertaining taking a fight for BTC depending on what the matchup is. BTC Fight Promotions has a show towards the end of August that Laramie has his eyes on a bit.
There was some discussion of cutting to Bantamweight the last time I spoke with TJ Laramie. At this juncture, TJ mostly seems interested in just getting out there and competing. TJ Laramie is a former TKO Featherweight Champion and has a great track record in the division he wants to keep building on.
Despite holding gold in the promotion, a TKO foray doesn’t seem into the cards. Laramie indicated that he wasn’t looking to get locked down in a multi-fight contract which is the usual TKO methodology of booking talent. TJ seems to be looking at one fight contracts, getting the best possible fights, and looking to draw attention from the bigger international MMA promotions.
Wherever TJ Laramie does decide to go in the future, MMA fans will assuredly be paying attention. TJ already has a wealth of experience, has shown a breadth of martial arts ability, and the wild thing is that he still likely hasn’t reached his full potential.
It’s hard to believe sometimes that TJ is only 21 and he’s the big brother among the Laramies. These brothers are a microcosm of where the sport is heading. They’re what the new generation of comprehensive mixed-martial artist looks like. I’m excited to see what they develop into as time goes on and anyone who hasn’t seen a TJ Laramie fight should make time to watch tape.
Since I mentioned TKO and BTC, check out some more of my Canadian MMA coverage in the links provided: https://mmasucka.com/2019/05/17/tko-48-preview/
https://mmasucka.com/2019/05/29/btc-6-event-preview/
