Sean Ratcliffe isn't lacking in the confidence department.
Having a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from one of the nation's most prestigious academies will do that for you.
"A lot of schools give out belts and commercialize it and they're really not teaching you the right thing," Ratcliffe said, "but getting it from there, it means something. Being part of a Gracie Academy in general and representing them, it's a big deal."
The 27-year-old from Renzo Gracie Academy in Derry is one of several locals appearing in tonight's "Combat Zone 27" at Rockingham Park.
Ratcliffe got into MMA about two years ago and hasn't wasted any time making a name for himself. He currently sports a 3-2 professional record.
"Oh, yeah, it was cool (to start off his career 2-0), especially going into something where I'm not really accustomed to fighting in general. The fights I've had in the ring are all I've really had in my entire life. I'm not one to go out and get into scraps at bars and stuff," said Ratcliffe.
Cape Ann Leaguers know Ratcliffe well. The three-year varsity wrestling standout, who graduated from North Andover High in 2000, won the Division 2 North Sectionals at 119 pounds his junior year.
"Having that background is huge for me, personally," said the 155-pound Ratcliffe, who now calls Haverhill home. "The whole nature of the sport, you're already built and trained for that kind of atmosphere, the one-on-one. You're able to react mentally, and your brain operates at a whole different level.
"Wrestling is what got me into it in the first place. A couple years go by and you're like, 'Dude, I have do this again.'"
The strength and toughness Ratcliffe learned as a high school grappler have become staples of his MMA career and his entire life. Those two traits are necessary as the combination of work (he's a member of the Local Union in Boston) and, well, more work (MMA) can get quite strenuous.
"I hang sheetrock for a living out of Boston — get up at quarter to 5, out the door by 5:30, come home from work and sleep for two or three hours, get back up and roll up to training, get home around 10-10:30, then back to bed. And do it all over the next day."
'Nervous' isn't a term that's in Ratcliffe's vocabulary. Vulnerability isn't something you can bring into bring into the ring, and after all, this is the guy who less than a year ago got to fight in front of UFC president Dana White. No one gets into MMA without the thought of one day making it to the UFC.
He said, "To be honest, I never really set any long-term goals for it, it's just something I did and am doing. It goes where it goes. Obviously, I'd love to make it to the UFC, but if that never happens, I won't look back and be upset about it.
I know that up to this point, what I've done by 27, is more than most, so I can sleep at night."
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