New England Fights (NEF) bantamweight champion “Killa” Kam Arnold has been perfect so far in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, carving out a flawless 4-0 record with four knockouts since he debuted in the promotion just over a year and a half ago
On April 27th, the 135-pound “King
in the North” makes his highly anticipated return to the cage when he is
scheduled to defend his title against longtime bantamweight mainstay, Henry
Clark (5-4).
Arnold recently joined Jason Floyd on The MMA Report podcast to discuss his origins in the
sport, his reign at the top of the New England 135-pound division, and his
goals for the future.
“I
fell in love with combat sports at a very young age, mostly boxing,” Arnold
explained to Floyd. “I was the youngest of all boys. I grew up in a pretty
rough family, and I had to be tough growing up, and my love for combat sports
came into the fold. I also played hockey as a kid, so I had a physical
upbringing. And I also wrestled when I was in school and it transformed into
this. I never thought I was going to be doing MMA as a kid, although I loved
it.
“I
hit rock bottom when I was a young teen,” Arnold continued. “I hit rock bottom,
and my mother came from out-of-state and picked me up, and we moved to Lewiston
[Maine]. And I always swore to myself as a kid I’d never move there because I
thought it was the worst place in the world. But it was actually the best move
I ever made in my entire life.”
When
Arnold’s parents—whom he credits for “making me the man I am today”–brought
him to his adopted hometown of Lewiston, Maine, he also found a gym family at
Central Maine Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (CMBJJ) where he has started training under
longtime NEF veterans Jesse “The Viking” Erickson (9-7) and former NEF
flyweight champion Dustin Veinott (5-4).
“I’m
trying to become a whole complete martial artist,” Arnold stated. “I’m not
trying to be known as just this brawler that’s going to go out there and bang
with anybody.”
“Bang,”
however, is exactly what Arnold did in April 2018 when he knocked out David
Thompson at “NEF 33: Riptide” in a lighting fast 11-seconds.
“I
mean yeah, it was a hell of a knockout highlight reel,” Arnold confessed. “But
I’ve been doing that my whole life, man.”
“We
were working that overhand right, we knew that was going to be there right from
the beginning,” Arnold continued. “I spoke it into existence and that’s exactly
what happened. I cracked him with a jab, I saw his head snap back, and then as
he’s coming in, he’s coming in very aggressive, he dropped his hand, he’s
coming in for an upper cut and he left his chin right on a shelf for me.”
Arnold
solidified his position at the top of the New England bantamweight division in
June 2018 at “NEF 34: Home of the Brave” when he defeated Killian Murphy (1-2)
via fourth-round knockout to become the NEF bantamweight champion. Despite a
back and forth battle that brought the crowd to its feet that night, and the
culminating moment he landed the knockout punch that iced the win for him,
Arnold looks back and still sees room for improvement.
“I
just haven’t been able to find that perfect fight, I guess,” Arnold pondered.
“A lot of people would point to Killian Murphy maybe being that fight for me,
but in my eyes that was a very poor performance for myself. I kept my hands very low for a reason, and a lot
of people said, ‘Oh, you looked tired.’ If I was so tired, I wouldn’t have
knocked him out in the fourth round. I kept my hands low for a reason because
of his wrestling ability. And people seem to forget that I used to wrestle too,
and I outwrestled him that whole fight. But I was still upset that I shouldn’t
have been able to take that many shots as I did with Killian. I should have put
him out earlier in the fight.
“It’s
hard to get the perfect fight,” Arnold continued. “I talk to other people about
it and they’re like, “Dude, it’s so hard.” Even guys that have been
fighting for 10, 15 years they’re like, “It’s so hard to find that perfect
fight.” Because I was like, “Man, is there something wrong with me? I
feel disappointed in myself after a win.”
So
what does Arnold want out of one of his fights in order to walk away satisfied?
“I
want to have a bloodbath,” he admitted. “I want to split somebody wide open,
have a doctor stoppage, because I’m beating somebody so badly. I love seeing
people’s eyes roll in the back of their heads, I like making people stiff as a
board.”
Currently
still competing as an amateur, Arnold is already being discussed as a future
threat in the professional bantamweight division. Before he turns pro, however,
he has plans set to defend his title on April 27th against a very experienced and crafty veteran
in Henry Clark, who comes into the bout riding a two-fight win streak.
“Henry’s tough, man,” Arnold warned. “He has a
chin on him, he’s a gamer, he’s not going to back down and he’s solid all the
way around.”
With his two-year anniversary since his debut
still four months away, Kam isn’t anxious and is confident that he has a lot
left to contribute to the sport.
“I still have some amateur goals that I want
to accomplish and we’re only scratching the surface of my career, really,”
Arnold stated. “I don’t want to make too much of a premature jump into the next
group of talent. But I’m not afraid either, I’ve got to make the decision here
coming up shortly, I’d like to get at least a couple more fights in. Depending
on how those fights go—I’m one fight at a time—but if I keep on remaining
successful, then I can’t see why I wouldn’t go pro after a sixth or a seventh
fight.
“I’m very excited for the next chapter,”
Arnold concluded.
NEF’s
next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 38: STORMBORN,” will take place
on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at Aura in Portland, Maine with a bell time of 7
pm. Tickets are on sale now at www.AuraMaine.com.
About
New England Fights
New
England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is
to create the highest quality events for fighters and fans alike. NEF’s
executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events
production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
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