ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Jalin Fuller is a 29-year-old father of three. He is also a top welterweight prospect in the LFA promotion. He didn’t see mixed martial arts in his future while growing up in Rio Rancho. In fact, no one did. “I was a musical theatre and choir guy growing up in Rio Rancho,” said Fuller.

Fuller was also entertaining love of martial arts that became a passion once he figured out that he could do more than love the sport. Fuller gave the sport a try and found out that he could actually physically do it. He’s been hooked ever since. “It wasn’t a hard mindset switch for me, honestly. I look at it as I’m a martial artist, you’re a martial artist. Let’s see who martial artist prowess comes out on top.”

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Fuller is fascinated with the many layers to the sport and the possibility of continuous growth. “It’s not, in my head, not as brutal yet we’re doing some pretty brutal things in there,” said Fuller. “You know, knocking another guy unconscious, snapping limbs, choking guys out. But, at the end of the day, that’s a more personal thing. Like, are you in the sport for the brutality that comes with it, or are you in it for the discipline, the lifestyle, and the ability to showcase your skillset to an audience?”

At 6-1 Fuller has moved up with a lot of success in LFA and is prepared to take on his next fight with short notice. It will be about a 14-day window since his last fight when Fuller meets Mytybek Orolay UUlu at LFA 131 May 6 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Fuller, who likes to stay active, comes from a family of athletes. Former New England Patriots defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Alan Branch is his cousin and someone he can lean on when it comes to sports.

“After my last defeat, Alan reached out and he was like, hey man, everyone wants to call you when you’re winning. No one wants to pick up that phone when that first L comes. It was just a quick talk when I was walking through the airport, coming back with my air in a sling, all beat down,” said Fuller. “But, it was good to see that my family sees me. They see what I’m doing and they are proud of what I’m doing.”

Fuller likes to make his family even more proud in the future. He hopes his journey in the sport that he has chosen as a career will lead him to an LFA welterweight title. “I want that belt,” said Fuller. “It’s an internationally recognized title, literally just shy of being able to call it a world title. I want that belt. It opens up doors for every other major promotion in a big way.”