James   "The CEO"   Saks

Fighters Biography

What do you do for fight preparation?

Anything and everything! No, jokes. I am very privileged to have a great training camp around me. The people I spar and grapple with are all EFC fighters at a very high level and we go hard. I also train under Wiekus Swart who is the only heavyweight BJJ 1st Dan in South Africa which gives me a little bit more than your average coach.

When and why did you start martial arts training?

I started training MMA about 6 years ago. It all happened one cold night when I rocked up for Judo in Linden and the Dojo was closed. I bumped into a friend who suggested I come with him to a place called Tapout Academy. I was sceptical at first but when I arrived at the gym I met Wiekus and started rolling. I was instantly hooked so I hung up my Judo Gi and never looked back.

How did you transition to MMA?

It was love at first strike. I have been involved with martial arts since I was four years old so it was really evolution, eventually leading into MMA and BJJ.