Mike Kimbel was 13 years old when his mom took him to an MMA gym thinking it was karate.
It wasn’t his idea to go. Discipline was Randi Kimbel’s aim when she hauled her son into the dojo. From the way things were going, he was walking a path all too common in Waterbury, Conn.
Kimbel, 21, was a three-sport athlete with a penchant for getting into trouble off the field. Four times, he said, he was arrested for “wrong place, wrong time stuff.”
“One time I really didn’t do what I was accused of doing, said something very, very profane, got arrested for that,” Kimbel told MMAjunkie. An online search of court records didn’t return any results.
Kimbel (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) found a new love after that fourth visit and hasn’t left the dojo since. He’s now a major bantamweight prospect signed with Bellator.
“A lot of my friends were less fortunate because their parents let things slide,” said Kimbell, who on Friday faces John Douma at Bellator 215. “My mom never let anything slide. She got me out of it early, and I thank her almost every day.”
A training camp with Irish MMA fighter Mike Egan led to a management contract with Paradigm Sports Management. Messages from Conor McGregor started showing up in Kimbel’s social media prior to fights.
In his promotional debut, Kimbel stopped his opponent in 63 seconds with a slam and punches. In his next appearance, it took him just six seconds to knock out Alex Potts, a multi-belt amateur champ.
In a community where gang violence and the opioid crisis are constantly in the headlines, Kimbel prides himself on being a source of positive news.
“Where I’m from, it’s about who got stabbed, who got shot, or who (overdosed),” he said. “So it’s good to know that positive things are being sparked in this community, and it’s great to be a part of that.”
Although Kimbel spends all of his time in the gym, his former life still peeks in. This past year, he lost two friends to gun violence.
Kimbel is “100 percent” convinced he’ll follow in McGregor’s footsteps as a famous MMA fighter. As to what he’ll do with the accompanying fame and fortune, he’s less sure.
“As long as I’m real with myself, and I just be me – I’m the same kid who will help 2-year-old kids, and I’ll post at a strip club,” Kimbel said. “I’m not hiding anything from anybody. I’m not acting like anybody I’m not. I’m just being myself and trying to be the best person I can be.”
But wherever he lands up, Kimbel is sure it will be in a better place than where he was headed.
“I just know I’ll continue to be myself,” he said. “If the money comes, who knows. It’ll be put into training. It will be put into nice things. I’ve always been a fly guy – look good, get girls. But what matters is Feb. 15. None of that is possible unless I get done what I need to get done.”
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