Promotional poster for the “fight” between Beckmann and Quarry. Photo: Reproduction
Like many 19-year-olds, Jake Beckmann is passionate about martial arts, dedicates part of his days to MMA training and dreams of being a professional fighter. However, Jake has Down Syndrome and therefore it would not be safe for him to perform, and he would not receive his license to fight from the Athletic Commissions that regulate the sport.
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“Because he trains with me, he would ask me all the time, 'Hey, when am I going to be able to compete?' or “When can I fight? And so, over the years, I told him: 'Keep training, we'll get there'. And over the years he has worked hard. He's probably one of the hardest working students I've ever had,” Beckmann's coach, Greg Walker, told “KPTV”, an affiliate of the North American channel “FOX” in Oregon (USA).
Determined to make Beckmann's dream come true, but aware of the impossibility of doing so by enrolling his pupil in a conventional combat, Walker had an idea: he published a message on Facebook asking if anyone in the Oregon MMA community could help him by accepting an exhibition fight against Jake, who goes by the nickname “The Snake.”
The coach's call was answered by none other than the former UFC fighter and veteran of the first season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter Nate Quarry, now 43 years old. Retired since 2010, Quarry, who already challenged for the middleweight belt in 2005, “returned to the ring” to face Jake Beckmann in a “telecatch” style fight last Saturday (18), at the “Rumble at the Roseland” event.
Confessed fan of the Brazilian Rousimar Toquinho, current champion of the event World Series of Fighting and a jiu-jitsu specialist, Beckmann ended the fight in the second round with a leg lock, in the Brazilian's best style. At the end of the duel, the young man was proclaimed “World Heavyweight Champion” and received a replica of the UFC belt, purchased thanks to donations made through a crowdfunding website. Furthermore, the special fight raised a thousand dollars for the organization “Create the Connection”, which specializes in creating jobs for people with special needs.
“Throughout my life, over and over again, I have had the opportunity to live my dreams. If I can make even the slightest effort to help a young boy not only live his dreams, but also show his mother what it could be like to see him follow his dreams. If I can help the community and let everyone know that people with special needs are just a little different… They are just that: a little different. They have dreams. They have goals, like the rest of us. Why shouldn't we try to tell them how they should live their lives? If we can let them follow their dreams, that's the right thing to do,” Quarry said shortly after the fight.
After his victory over Nate Quarry in his first MMA fight, Jake Beckmann already has his next goal in mind. "A girlfriend. One day… I dream of having a girlfriend,” he revealed.
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