A young MMA fighter named John Gotti III knocked out his opponent Eddie Haws in New York on Friday night, improving to 2-0 on his career.
Yes, you read that name right. John Gotti III—grandson of notorious mobster John Gotti—is an MMA fighter. And he's really good. In his second career fight, he only needed 32 seconds to knock his opponent out with a flurry of impressive punches.
With a name like John Gotti III and all the talent he's already showing, the young New York fighter is already receiving a lot of attention from the MMA world for all the potential marketability his career holds.Â
At this point, he's grown accustomed to the attention that comes from his family name. "I’m adjusted to it by now," Gotti III recently told MMA Fighting. "You get these same questions over and over, over the course of your whole life. Since a kid, I’m just kind of used to it at this point. At the same time, I’m just trying to take my own path, my own avenue in this sport and accomplish my own things through hard work and dedication. But I’m proud of my name and my name is my name and I’m gonna represent it the best I could, win, lose or draw. That’s all I could do as far as that."
So, did his notorious family push him into a career as an MMA fighter? Not at all. As his father John Gotti Jr explained to MMA Fighting, this is his son's dream.
"I basically wanted to throw up all over myself," Gotti Jr said. "I was getting physically sick. My son won a split decision. He came to me afterwards and I tried to dissuade him from doing this. But my son said, 'Toughen up.' He said, 'You've got to toughen up, I love this, this is what I want to do.' And I stand by it. Let me tell you something, when your son tells you this is the happiest he's ever been in their life and this is their dream, you do whatever you have to do to support it."
In a post-fight interview with The MMA-Holes, Gotti III was asked about doubters who say he's only getting hype because of his family name. With quiet confidence, he replied, "They have to tune in. In a couple years from now, they'll see. It's going to be very big."
