Jimmy Drago could potentially win a fight in the competitor series and a UFC contract, but perhaps an even more important date awaits him in October.
That month is a welterweight outlook for 10 years. This is an incredible feat from New York, considering whether he will continue to live past 21. He became obsessed with heroin and overdose eight times while battling addiction, and Drago should have died more than ever before, most of which came before he came far enough for him to drink.
It’s been nearly a decade since he last exposed to drugs, but Drago uses the dangers he’s passed himself as a constant reminder to understand what he has now and what he’s never coming back.
“One of the biggest tools I have today is remembering exactly what hell is,” Drago told MMA Fighting. “It was hell. I had no friends. I didn’t ring the phone. I was kicked out of school. I was fired from work. My girlfriend left. I don’t take responsibility for anything. I want to kill myself, but too many ap*ssys to do that.
“I remember what it was yesterday. Yeah, there’s been 10 years, and one of the biggest tools I can have for myself is to never forget where you came from.”
The move to Drago to MMA didn’t come until he was clean and calm, but he actually abused heroin and got the first taste of the fight while always sought for his next score.
Growing up in New York at a time when MMA wasn’t legal there, there were many underground combat clubs that staged events that were not yet approved. At the time, Drago really didn’t know about the fight, but as he was a tough kid growing up, he thought he could use all his anger and aggression to unleash his opponent.
On top of that, Drago needed money to promote his ever-expanding drug habits, and the fight provided him with the quick cash he needed, but not much.
“I was just a crude kid who grew up and was craving money. “I was doing more social connections, but at the time I was desperate for it. Like I said, I had no one to ask me to hang out. I felt better.
“It just shows you the sad part of my life because I have to go down to these places and hurt people just to get some kind of human interaction.
Drago competed in the underground fighting club on four different occasions, including one night after taking on two different opponents.
After determining the victory in a matchup that was not a crowd delight, the promoter decided to stage the fight and literally ask anyone in the crowd if they wanted to challenge Drago.
“They were on the microphone and asking the whole crowd, ‘Who wants to dive in?'” Drago said. “I’m like a 19 year old, everyone is screaming and they’re going to choose? I’m looking around the crowd.
“I’m f*cked. They brought the other guys (from) the crowd into the ring. I fought him. I’m sure I won from what I remember. Wild.
His final appearance came during an event where the world-renowned rapper sat front and center to watch the battle. Drago had already faced an opponent he had lost once, but the rematch was a completely different story.
“I fought a kid who had previously knocked out. He trained for six months. I shot heroin for six months,” Drago said. “We went to the four rounds. We fought in front of 50 cents. The place was absolutely bananas.
“I was copying drugs on Westchester Avenue an hour before I got there. We went into four rounds. They called it a tie. I dropped him, he dropped me.
That moment ultimately led to Drago’s rock bottom when it came to his drug addiction.
“After that (the fight) my pride was so crushed that I had just moved on to this suicide mission,” Drago said. “Then, one or two more overdose.
“It was that month of October 2015, but I went out for rehabilitation. I left that time. I did 30 days in rehabilitation. I went to the Jersey location.
As he was calm, Drago was to connect with the coach he met through an underground fight that reached him about the possibility of playing a kickboxing match.
His intro to fight the sport may have come while he still high, and he may have placed his head just above the water so he can get more heroin, but along the way Drago actually fell in love with the fight.
So he decided to go to the gym this time and take it seriously by actually training with real coaches and sparring partners.
“I played this fight and won,” Drago said. “After that fight, it was like April 2016 and I said it was time to go home. I went home and I went back to Yonkers, New York. I started training full time. I started the Muay Thai fight that summer.
A proud iron worker represented by a prominent union in New York, Drago found his true passion through combat and led him to a 7-2 record in one no-contest during his MMA career. The recent three-winning streak has attracted the attention of the UFC as Drago was signed to compete in the upcoming season of the Dana White’s contender series kicks off Tuesday.
Drago always maintains the fact that he can glide again behind his mind, as much as he has driven his life since the days when he was all consumed by drugs. However, unlike his tragic past, Drago recently discovered that there is much to live on.
“Everyone needs a purpose in life,” Drago said. “Everyone. Entrepreneurs are very successful people. What is their purpose? To provide their business. When I settled down, I started helping people, going back and forth people to the program, calling people and checking them out. It just made me feel better.
“The fight gave me purpose. I wanted to be a pro fighter, so I wanted to show people, so if you can go from heroin addiction to professional athletes, you can do anything in this world. I’m not trying to promote a family here. Ideas, arrest your demon.
The outcome of his fight on Tuesday may determine whether Drago will receive the UFC contract, but the truth is that he is already the winner just because he is alive today.
That wasn’t what Drago said 10 years ago when he was obsessed with heroin and believed that his life was nearing an end before it actually began.
“I never thought I was going to be over 22,” Drago said. “The fact that at one point I settled down for 90 days was an absolute f*cking miracle. I accomplished a lot in my 20s, 30-40 years old, to reach 30 years (year).