Mackens Semerzier fights for a living. He walks into an octagon surrounded by a fence and exchanges punches, kicks, chokes, and slams with opponents. So far in five fights as a professional MMA fighter, Semerzier has been more than just good.
The 29-year old is regarded as one of the sport’s rising stars. For his success, he credits the one person who kept him away from fighting in the streets and away from trouble: his mother Rose.
Semerzier, who was born in Miami, squares off against Deividas Taurosevicius in a 145-pound fight Sunday in Sacramento as part of WEC’s stellar card. The son of Haitian immigrants, Semerzier grew up in Little Haiti where he saw gangs develop in the neighborhood. He saw fights in the streets, and drug use, but never fell into the lifestyle thanks to mom.
“My mom would’ve kicked my butt!” Semerzier said. “She didn’t deal with that stuff. She would tell me ‘I'd rather kill you myself than let you fall into stuff like that.' She took raising us very seriously. She always put me and my brother and sisters first. She sacrificed her social life to raise her kids.”
Growing up Semerzier knew of kids who would go out and steal things because they couldn’t afford to get it. He also knew of some who would deal drugs to make money to buy clothes and sneakers among other things. Rose didn’t want to see her son stoop to that level.
“She would give me, but not too much. She’d give me enough so I wouldn’t have to get it any other way, but she never spoiled me,” Semerzier recalls. “I remember in high school I wanted to get a job, but she told me, ‘Baby, you don’t need to work right now. You’ll work for the rest of your life. Enjoy your childhood.’ She was right. Once you graduate high school you never stop working. I took a lot of her advice. I wish I would’ve taken some more of it, but I always make sure that what she taught me I teach to my three kids.”
Semerzier attended Braddock where he excelled in wrestling. Afterward he made another decision that would add to the discipline he displays in the octagon. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and in 2003, was part of the invasion of Iraq.
“When you’re there it’s surreal. It seems fake and cartoonish,” Semerzier said. “You hear rounds going off while you sleep, but you don’t feel any emotions. The mind and body adapts to it. After a while you just go and live through it with no concern. I know it was a war, but in my mind I knew I wouldn’t be killed.
“If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t change a thing. It was the right decision. Joining the military was a dream of mine. It taught me a lot of stuff that my mom would teach me: dedication, diligence, and hard work. My mom instilled these values in me, and the Marines just reinforced it.”
Today Rose is very proud of what her son has become. Semerzier, who now resides in Chesapeake, Va., is now ready for one of the biggest fights of his career. The fight against Taurosevicius will be televised nationally. Smerzier enters the fight fresh off an upset win over Wagnney Fabiano, a bout he says he wasn’t intimidated for, and won’t be for this one either.
“I never doubted myself. I guess it’s the Miami mentality,” Semerzier said. “I don’t know how I’m gonna get it done, and I don’t care what they think, but I’ll get it done. There’s no time to be intimidated or scared. When I hear a guy talking trash to me before a fight I’m like, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through.’ Maybe I won’t be the winner, but I’m gonna give you hell and blood and guts. When you’re done with that fight you’ll know you were in a fight. I’m nobody’s pushover.”
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