The subject of our next catch-up interview hardly needs any introduction. Having been around as a professional MMA fighter since 2008, Jamaine ‘Mr Pain’ Facey is seasoned in the sport. He fights, referees, he puts on MMA Holidays, runs his own Semi Professional Promotion and juggles all this whilst working and being a family man.
Originally from Birmingham, Jamaine moved to Brixton when he was 16 years old and found himself roaming the streets of London for a good few years. He has told me in the past that he has always known right from wrong but could so easily have taken the wrong route in life.
After failing to fill in the job centre sign on forms correctly, Jamaine decided to go to college and study to become a mechanic but a few years into his placement he realised he didn’t like the dirty lifestyle. It took him a while to get into MMA as he originally found it highly amusing knowing his friends were rolling around on the floor with other men. But thankfully for us, Jamaine was cajoled to go along to a session and from that moment on he left the partying and unproductive lifestyle behind him and committed to MMA.
Six years later and with a record of 10-9, Jamaine has achieved a lot in the world of MMA. A genuinely lovely man who always has time for people and a committed athlete who stands up for the right things in life, it is a pleasure to catch up with him once again to find out what he has been up to and how all the various projects have been going. We start off asking how it has been going at his gym, Bandogs.
“Bandogs is going well. The lease on our last location ran out and the management needed it back. We knew it wasn’t going to be forever so it was okay and now I am running sessions at Covent Gardens The Strand Fitness First and I am also a personal trainer at the gym so everything has worked out well”.
As we said, Jamaine juggles a hell of a lot of activities along with work and family and he tells us that he can only manage to do all the things he loves with a good team and understanding family. Without them he could not do it at all.
MMA Holidays is another project that Jamaine initiated and he tells us more about it and what you can expect if you sign up to one.
“To cut it short, we have picked some country’s that have a martial arts heritage and we set holidays around that, so if you went to Thailand you would do Muay Thai and we would plan it around the new year and maybe the full moon party. It isn’t just a training holiday, you get to see and enjoy Thailand too if you are up for it. We can also get you a fight whilst you are there or you can just do training as a start to get fit and back in shape. It is the same with Brazil, America and Holland; all the gyms are friendly and happy to look after you. You do not need to have a background in martial arts and training is not mandatory. It is a great set up and you can bring your family along too. You usually train at 6 or 7am so can be back for breakfast with the family. For more information check out mmaholidays.co.uk”.
Jamaine runs the successful Semi Professional Promotion, Sunday Brawl and tells us a little more about the history and future of the event.
“Sunday Brawl has been great. We were one of the first shows out there for the semi pro fighter and now everyone else is trying to copy us, just check out the date of when their shows started. We have so many great guy on the show, too many to name but you will be seeing some of them on the big stage soon. The next SBMMA show should be in September at Seni. It is one of the big martial art exhibitions in the UK and it comes around every two years. If you are interested in getting on the show then inbox me on Facebook or SBMMA Facebook”.
We last saw Jamaine in action against Charlie Leary on UCMMA 36 in October 2013. Jamaine lost the fight on points and tells us a little more about the fight from his eyes.
“I lost the fight on points but I damaged my rotary cuff one minute into the fight when I attempted to take him down. After that I could not raise my arm or throw power shots. The only thing I could do was grab and it put me off my striking and ground game. I was fighting with one arm against a good fighter and that isn’t easy at all. I couldn’t tell anyone at the time as they would have stopped the fight and that isn’t what I am all about. I definitely lost the fight due to my injury. Let me fight someone with one arm and I would f**k them up and I tell you it would not go to points”.
With a record of 10-9, Jamaine has 3 Sub wins and 7 KO/TKO wins. You wouldn’t be wrong to assume he is more comfortable in the stand-up game but Jamaine doesn’t agree.
“A fight is a fight, I am happy whatever”.
With 19 fights under his belt we wondered what fight had been his favourite.
“The Dyson fight, the Jordan fight, the fight against Ross, the fight with Ben. There is no why for me. It is just a fight. I do not take it personally. My opponents and their friends and family may do but my job is to fight and that’s it. I am not here to make friends, touch gloves and hug everyone. I am paid to hurt them as they are paid to hurt me and that is it. All this talk about respect in MMA, there is no honour or respect. You are there to fight and you get paid to fight. In class and with your teacher you must show respect all day long but once you step in the cage it is a fight, not football or ping-pong, a fight”.
Although Jamaine has no particular favourite fight, he does tell us who his toughest opponent has been.
“Edgelson Lua was that guy. He was so strong and powerful and kept on taking me down. We were going at it hard. He got me in a RNC for over 1 minute but I was not going out like that and I ended up winning with the GnP in the second round. It was a great fight”.
I wondered if Jamaine would be interested in a re-match against anyone he has already fought or if there is anyone else he would like to take on. He hasn’t fought since October 2013 so he must be keen to get back in the cage and go for the Title shot again.
“There isn’t anyone I would like to fight again. If I beat them it is because I was the better fighter. If they beat me, it is because they were lucky lol! I will be looking to fight for the Title again in the near future though. I would like to fight as soon as possible and there is one guy that, for some strange reason, I would like to fight. That guy is Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher. He is probably a really nice guy but I can’t handle all the drama coming into the cage and his whack spinning nothing kick”.
Other than fighting, Jamaine has been refereeing and I have to say he is very entertaining as a Ref, even without the trademark flying knees!
“I like refereeing and have refereed over 300 fights now and have only slapped one guy”!
Other than one, all of Jamaine’s fights have been on Cage Rage and UCMMA promoted by Dave O’Donnell. We wondered what keeps Jamaine going back time and time again.
“Dave pays me what I ask for. He knows I have a big following and he knows that if my name is on the card that people will come to the show. Directed or undirected by me, he knows I know how to sell out a show and put on great fights, win or lose. I am happy to fight on any show but they have to pay the right money. I have done my time in the sport and I am not a new boy coming up. Just google me and you will see”.
Since starting out, we wondered how Jamaine has seen himself evolve as a fighter from that first pro fight in 2008.
“As I am getting older, I am getting so much better. I had no idea. I did not know what I was doing when I started out. I had just five weeks MMA training but I had no fear and that is not good. You need just a bit to keep you on your toes and to understand what can happen if you are not on your toes”.
To close we wanted Jamaine to tell us his long term goals in all aspects of MMA.
“I just want to keep fighting for now. But things change every day”.
As always, it has been a pleasure to speak to Mr Pain who is Jamaine. “He was one of the first guys I saw fight in UK MMA and I cannot forget the flying knee that left me speechless and a big fan of that finishing technique. I look forward to seeing him in the cage again soon and would like to thank him for finding time to chat to me”. Suzy, Athlete services at mogul management.
Jamaine would like to thank the following people.
“I would like to thank all my family, my team at Bandogs MMA and Lamai Muay Thai, Thailand. I would also like to thank all of my fans and my management team at mogul management”.
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