On October 3, Jesse Schaper, former Benoni High School learner and Boksburg resident, competed in the Alpha MMA Championship at Mall of Africa.
He fought against Kyle Sham, taking home the win and gaining two new sponsors which will be announced once negotiations are finalised.
Starting his own mixed martial arts (MMA) gym called Martial Fitness and experience of fighting for over 10 years, Schaper feels nothing comes to him more naturally then fighting does.
“I really enjoy it, I actually love it. I can’t imagine my life in any other way,” he explained.
“This is what I was born to do. Competing, the lifestyle, eating healthy, the fitness. I feel like I can do nothing better. It brings the best out of me.
“I am a confident person. I feel that it’s probably because I feel safe in knowing I can always protect myself and my family. My family is my motivation and my number ones, knowing that I have their backs always makes me happier. I love the feeling fighting gives me. I really enjoy it.”
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Being a part of the Schaper family means he is used to putting in the work. Being cousins with Jayden, Breidyn and Camden, he holds drive and passion for his sport close to his heart.
Leading up to the fight, Schaper put in a lot more effort and training, after his most recent loss.
“As a fighter, you need to be ready to fight whenever,” he explained.
“You need to start by figuring out your opponent, how he fights and what he does differently to you. I knew my opponent was more of a boxing opponent so I focused more on my legs and conditioning.
“I did many fight camps, dropped my weight and focused on getting my head into the right space. It doesn’t matter how much you prepare, you’re going to get tired in the ring. So I made sure to focus and prepare for that fatigue stage. For this camp I put myself through hell because if the camp is hard, you work hard and push yourself to the absolute limit. Then, when you enter the cage it’ll be easy.”
Schaper said he felt prepared and ready for this fight.
“I wasn’t prepared for my last fight, it was a three-round war that I ended up losing against a phenomenal opponent. Even though I was quite happy with my performance and what I put in during those three rounds. This time was different, I felt prepared because this time I had committed coaches and I was able to control the fighting camp because I have my own gym now.”
Schaper has many plans going forward in his fighting career, a goal he will do anything to follow.
“I am fighting as an amateur, but I hope within the next six months to a year I will go pro. Then I want to move to Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) and then to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
“I want to establish a professional Marital Fitness establishment in Benoni where we can prepare and take fighters overseas and then develop them overseas. I don’t want to just fight for me, to be rich or famous. I want to be successful so I can guide people through the same process. I want to show that we as South Africans can fight on an international level, regardless of the adversity we are facing.”
As a fighter, Schaper does many things that allow him to continue his fighting career.
“Leading up to a fight is a roller coaster. You’re killing your body not only for fitness but you’re dieting to drop weight as well. I like to surround myself with family and friends, keeping a positive mentality because having any kind of negative energy around you can throw a fighter off his game so quickly. My girlfriend and daughter are my number one supporters”
Schaper feels family, friends, coaches, sponsors and every one part of an athlete’s life has a lot of influence on a fighter and his game.
“With a great support system, strong and positive mentality, drive and passion, you too can become a fighter and start building your career. Consistency is a big part of MMA and becoming a fighter, you have to also have an obsession for it,” concluded Schaper.
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