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Leading up to Mother’s Day in May, The Scrap will be honoring the mothers of MMA fighters.

Being the mother of a pro MMA fighter, I personally know the difficulties they face during their son or daughter’s long road leading up to the pro ranks. For the first article, UFC featherweight Steven Peterson (18-9 MMA) reached out to send a message about his mom Brenda.

“My mom always loved me and wanted the best for me.”

As a young child living in Los Angeles, California Peterson’s mother encouraged him to sign up for band. “I wanted to do percussion because I thought it was cool, but she wanted me to play a classical instrument so she picked the trumpet for me.”

“Ocho” admitted the choice of the instrument immediately set him up as a target for bullying at a young age. “By getting bullied, I had to learn how to fight back,” said Peterson. At this point in his life, he was introduced to fighting.

In high school, Peterson ditched the trumpet and eventually started playing football. However, sometimes popularity may lead you to the wrong crowd. So after his freshmen year, the family moved to Mckinney, Texas.

“Being from LA, I did not fit in which led to many more fights and trouble rebelling against authority,” said Peterson. “I got in trouble with the law and found myself in jail a few times. My mom was always there to pick me up and try to shelter me.”

Steven said it was in his senior year of high school that he first discovered MMA and fell in love. “My mom didn’t like seeing me fight or getting hurt, but she saw that it gave me discipline and direction so she supported me in my MMA career,” said Peterson. “Since then, she’s been to almost all my fights and is my number one fan. I wouldn’t be where I am in life it wasn’t for her.”

Peterson competed on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2017 and had his UFC debut in February 2018 at UFC Austin against Brandon Davis.

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