Damien Anderson is one of the top competitors currently training out of B-Team Jiu-Jitsu and he’s now gearing up for his MMA debut at Fury FC 73 on January 29th, 2023. Anderson will be competing in an amateur bout on the preliminary card of the event, fighting an opponent with significantly more MMA experience. He is facing Cody Ortiz, an amateur fighter since 2016 who has amassed a 2-6 record to date, over three 3 minute rounds. While Anderson is obviously well known for his phenomenal grappling talent, he has been open about the fact that he wants to display more of his striking ability during his first fight.
Anderson has actually already been able to display just how much power he has in his hands, as he registered the first clean knockout in Combat Jiu-Jitsu history last year. He had a great showing at the Lightweight edition of the event and if it wasn’t for meeting his teammate and eventual champion Ethan Crelinsten in the semi-finals, he likely could have emerged with a title. It was a pretty good year for Anderson overall, as he was also announced as the official alternate for the 66kg division at ADCC 2022, although he unfortunately never got the call-up to compete. He finished the year off strong then with a great performance at the Combat Jiu-Jitsu World Team Duel event, competing alongside Ethan Crelinsten this time and helping B-Team to second place.
Anderson isn’t the only exciting BJJ competitor who is fighting on the card either, as Combat Jiu-Jitsu welterweight world champion Kody Steele will also be taking on his third opponent as a professional fighter. Steele went 2-0 as an amateur fighter before transitioning to the professional circuit, and has already defeated both of his first opponents there as well. He’ll be fighting against Sam Kilmer, a 4-2 professional who fights out of Kaizen MMA. Anderson and Steele have actually had a similar journey too, starting out as no gi grapplers, getting a wealth of Combat Jiu-Jitsu experience, and then finally making the transition to MMA.
Steele has actually been helping Damien Anderson prepare for his MMA debut, as Anderson shared photos of the pair training together at Ambush Muay Thai in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
