The Past and Future 03.30.09: Josh Clark and Jim Alers

Posted by Robert Steele on 03.30.2009

This week the Past and Future looks at two up-and-coming prospect fighters with just a handful of professional fights combined: Josh Clark at 1-0, and Jim Alers at 2-0. They discuss their careers at the amateur and professional level, and their aspirations in MMA.

The Past:

Josh Clark

Josh Clark began training at Four Seasons MMA in Lexington, Kentucky. He made use of a free 6-month term by spending his time working with, then amateur fighter, Junie Browning. Head instructor, Mike O'Donnell, liked him enough, and a few months later he would have his first fight.

As an amateur fighter, Josh spoke of his most memorable moment. "I'm going to have to say when I got 185lb Caged Inferno belt," he said. "That was a big show here in the state, and one of my goals was to win a belt in their show and I did. Now I've set my goals even higher."



The smaller size of Four Seasons MMA has helped Josh improve as a fighter. "Our gym is definitely like a family," he said. "We spend a lot of time together and get real good training. It's not like these big gyms where if you're not good they use you as a punching bag and never show you anything. With it being a smaller gym we get a lot of one-on-one time with Mike O'Donnell." Mike O'Donnell is a first-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Carlson Gracie Jr.

Supporting him at Four Seasons is boxing coach Gerald Reed, an experienced veteran with many professional boxing fights to his name. "One thing I like best about Coach Reed is [that] he is very dedicated and [has] got a lot of passion," Clark said. "He wants everybody to become a champion…. It could be three in the morning, you could call him up to hit pads and I'd bet anything he would show up."

Coaching Muay Thai is Ernie Lake, who Josh has credited for improving his leg kicks a great deal.

Against Brandon Pinkston for Revolution Fight League, Josh showed some of this boxing and Muay Thai ability. He connected with uppercuts, body punches and knees, causing Pinkston to tap-out due to strikes in the second round. Clark indicated his game-plan was to go in striking. "I'm 6'4", that's always going to be my game plan," he said. "It's no secret Brandon was tough. [He] was able to get me down a couple times, but I got back to my feet, hurt him with a right upper cut to the body, and as he was bent over, [I] finished him with a knee."

In his only pro fight to date, Josh Clark defeated 3-0 Ryan Rogers by first round KO at a Freestyle Cage Fighting event last January at Firelake Grand Casino in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He was able to make good use of the cage to avoid a single-leg takedown and keep the fight standing. An overhand punch knocked Rogers down, and Clark was able to pounce to finishes the fight.

Jim Alers

Jim Alers began his MMA career after wrestling throughout high school. He decided not to take the amateur route, electing to go straight to professional fighting instead. "I wish I had an amateur MMA record, the experience would have been great," Alers said. "However, I feel there is no reason to risk my body doing amateur fights. I just don't think they are that safe right now. So I just started doing pro fights. I figures if I'm going to get punched I'd like to get paid for it."

Alers trains at Gracie Barra Orlando under Marcio Simas, a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Simas studied under different members of the Gracie family to earn his belt. He has been an instructor of the art for over 10 years. "His jiu-jitsu is one of a kind," Alers said.



"We have a great light-weight camp with a ton of great fighters including Cage Warriors undefeated champ, Bruce Connors. They are all great people and we push each other to the limit."

In August of 2008, Alers fought his first professional fight with Cage Warriors against Brandon Ocasio. There were moments during the fight when Alers had to do a lot of work from his back. "That fight was a wild back and forth ride. We just kept getting out of each other's moves. I had his back and thought time was running out in the round, so I went for the arm bar, which in transition became a triangle." The fight ended with Alers putting the submission on at 3:50 into the first round.

His next professional fight took place last January against Brent Silva. Again Alers was able to get a first round submission, winning the fight by rear-naked choke. Despite the look of the fight, he said he never felt in trouble. "I had him standing and he tried to take me down, but I ended up on top and took his back early. He escaped, but I felt very comfortable from the ground. I just had to stay moving and work submission attempts. I knew my jiu-jitsu would eventually catch him."

The Future:

Josh Clark

For a young fighter transitioning from amateur to pro, there is always great difficulty. Often the transition requires working another full-time job on top of training. In the case of Josh, he works over 40 hours a week, which severely cuts into his training. From 6-9 throughout the week he will do a range of training that includes striking, wrestling, submission wrestling, or boxing. "Sometimes I may go up on the weekends, especially if I've got a fight coming up," he said. "I will hit pads, go to jiu-jitsu class, or work my wrestling, it all depends on what I feel is my weak point at that time."



Clark's greatest asset is his stand-up game. "Gerald [Reed] has worked with me a lot and he says I got world class hand speed," Josh said. "I just do a good job of circling and making guys come to me, and keeping at the end of my punches.... But don't underestimate my ground game either."

"I'll go toe-to-toe with anybody. That's what people want to see is someone getting knocked out; and if you want to be successful in this sport, you've got to give the fans what they want."

Josh listed his next fight as taking place in Dayton, Ohio. The details regarding this fight are to be announced.

Jim Alers

Jiu-jitsu is definitely the strongest area of Alers' game. Alers calls it his "true love." His training, however, is still well-rounded. "I usually start of the day with jiu-jitsu and wrestling," he said "Then I have a half-hour break before doing stand-up or MMA training. I do this for about three hours, and then I do it all over again in the afternoon. I also have cardio training in there on specific days."



His current short-term goal is to earn his black belt and to stay undefeated and make it into a big organization. He is currently a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

As a hypothetical he was asked with who he would have an exciting fight. He listed Fedor, jokingly. "Imagine the fame and glory I would have if I knocked him out," he said. "But really I would like to probably fight some of the cast members from TUF. I think a lot of them are horrible."

On April 17th, Jim will have his next fight in Atlanta, Georgia at Wild Bill's Fight Night. He will be moving down to 145lbs to fight Byron Bloodworth. Bloodworth is a submission specialist, so a technical ground fight is anticipated.

Josh Clark would like to thank: "Everybody who has supported me, and when I felt like giving it up they were there beside me, because there is a lot of mixed emotions in this sport and there is no off-season."

Jim Alers would like to thank: "My Gracie Barra family, my girlfriend and my sponsors (NVRTAP Never Surrender, Steadfast clothing, Throwin Knuckles and Project Label)"

Images from each fighter's respective Myspace page and also okfightnews.com