Back 2023, Josiah Harrell’s life changed forever. Before his big debut at UFC 290 it was discovered that Harrell was suffering from Moyamoya. The arteries supplying blood to Harrell’s brain were narrow and becoming blocked. Harrell needed emergency surgery.
The road back to his dream was a hard one. Harrell suffered two seizures when he pushed himself too hard and too fast. With an overall professional MMA record of 11 wins and one loss, that loss was to Jacobe Smith and at Harrell’s UFC debut back in February. Harrell learned a lot from that loss and is ready to take on Elves Brener this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs. Barcelos.
John Powell: How are you doing, Josiah? It’s great to be talking to you. Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us. We really appreciate it.
Josiah Harrell: Appreciate you, John. Thank you.
John Powell: Now, looking back, obviously some people already know your struggle. Did you ever think it was going to be such a hardship to follow your dream?
Josiah Harrell: Realistically, no. But anybody that’s chased any sort of dream, you’re going to have to be realistic and know that there’s going to be a struggle. So I didn’t realize it was going to be that difficult. I didn’t realize there was going to be complications with my brain. I didn’t realize there was going to be complications with getting back into fighting. I didn’t realize that there was going to be so many doubts and so many different things added on.
But who really knows whenever they start their dream? Who really knows what is added on? I’m just excited that I kept going when I didn’t want to.
John Powell: Your story is very inspirational to a lot of people. What drove you in those times when you knew your health was such a concern?
Josiah Harrell: I wouldn’t say it’s me. It’s something that’s higher than me. The only thing I could do is give to God. If I’m going down this path and I only believed in myself and what I could do, I would have quit a long time ago but I just believe that there was something looking out for me and guiding me. The only thing I can do is try to give back.
John Powell: Now you’ve been known for a lot of last-minute fights, Josiah. It’s tough enough when you know who you’re fighting. How do you prepare when something’s just dropped on you like that?
Josiah Harrell: Oh, it’s way more exciting! It’s way more exciting! When you don’t know who you’re fighting until a month out, three weeks out, it’s way more exciting than getting a plan for somebody! My brain enjoys the surprise when it comes to, “Oh, here’s a new opponent,” or, “Here’s a new thing.”
I got used to it as an amateur. We got used to it coming up as a pro. We stayed at 170 for so long because it was hard for us to get a fight that we were like, “Okay, cool, we can stay locked in for camp long enough to make 155.”
It was just hard. It was very difficult to do. But now that we are here, it’s nice to be back.
John Powell: How has the training been going so far? What have you been working on, especially?
Josiah Harrell: A lot of running. A lot of running. Keeping cardio high, staying very technical as technical as we can, trying to make sure that we’re not getting into the dogfights that we enjoy. Long story short—stay as disciplined as possible. That’s been the camp this time around.
John Powell: Now, when you’re facing Brener in a few days, what is your strategy? What do you see in him as an opponent? What challenge does he bring to you?
Josiah Harrell: He’s very unorthodox. He’s a game opponent. He’s very tough so it’s not somebody that we expect to put out. We are going to finish but it’s not something that we’re just going to expect to happen in the first or the second. It’s going to be more of a late finish after he’s got his damage done to his body, his head taken down a little bit.
So it’s more of a slow grind rather than us knowing that he’s not going to give up. So we know that we have to be there, and we know we have to be disciplined for 15 minutes. Well, if we end up getting the decision, we get a decision, but we have to make sure that we’re focused and disciplined for 15 minutes.
John Powell: What was your reaction when you heard that he was going to be your opponent coming up?
Josiah Harrell: I didn’t know much about Brener, so it didn’t really faze me too much. (laughs) I probably should be more interested in the sport that I’m in, but I don’t really watch too much. (laughs) I’ll watch every now and then or if I’m hanging out with my buddies, I’ll watch.
But it’s not a thing where I’m like, “Okay, this weekend is something where I’m not watching this stuff by myself.” So if I’m not with my people, then the likelihood that I’m keeping up with what’s going on is very low. I have buddies that know way more about MMA than I do.
John Powell: What do you think is your advantage against him going in?
Josiah Harrell: I think that it’s the capacity of being able to get the fight to the ground. I think that his jiu-jitsu is very good and nobody wants him on top. I just don’t think that his wrestling matches with that.
So I think that my wrestling has the ability to get the fight to the ground if I need it but it also allows me to stand up if I need it. So basically, I’m able to dictate where the fight takes place and then as long as we’re being disciplined and not too overeager, I think that we’re better than him everywhere, to be honest.
John Powell: Do you think it’s going to come down to striking or grappling?
Josiah Harrell: Oh, it’s an MMA fight. It’s going to come down to everything! (laughs) Even though it’s most likely going to be a lot safer to get on top and finish in that way and if he allows us to get a shot in at any moment then that’s what we’re going to take. That would be the safest bet.
Any person that is in this sport knows that their egos are part of it and it’s going to be hard not to give into that whenever you’re fighting another man. So, I hope I’m listening to my corners and I hope I’m doing everything I need to do to make sure that we are doing it the right way and then from there it’s just staying disciplined.
That’s the whole point of this. As long as I’m staying disciplined, we’re fine.
John Powell: Now, you never lost a fight before Smith. Going through that, what did that teach you about yourself? What did you learn from that? As my grandfather used to tell me, we learn more from our failures as human beings than our successes.
Josiah Harrell: It showed me a lot. More importantly, I have a problem where I kind of wait. I kind of like to see what people can do and at this level you can’t do that.
So, I think the biggest thing that Smith taught me is, if God gave me three minutes to do whatever I needed to do, and I spent that time going, “Oh, I wonder what he can do,” or, “I wonder how…” Like, basically, if I’m allowing my curiosity to get that much of me and I’m not focused on the fight or what I have to do, then that’s my fault.
No matter how it happens, it’s my fault that I didn’t get right to work. So it’s more just like having a sense of urgency and getting right to work. It’s not time to play around.
As lovely as it would be to be able to feel out your opponent and mess around, sometimes you don’t get that opportunity, and sometimes you don’t get that chance. So it’s more just getting right to work and not going, “Hey, let’s see what happens,” because that’s really what it is.
Going back and watching it, it’s fine. I’m sure that at some point, after we make our road up to 155, we’ll end up going back up to 170. And if he’s doing his thing, we’ll most likely meet him again. If not, then that’s not in store for me, and that’s fine as well.
But we’re ready. So just keep doing what we got to do, one fight at a time, elves, right now, and then we’ll worry about anything else afterwards.
John Powell: Now, you once said in the past that you don’t want to be the person who takes your own dream away. What did you mean by that? Is that the philosophy you live by now, going into every fight?
Josiah Harrell: I mean, obviously there’s a lot of things going on when it comes to mental health and I would say 95% of fighting is mental.
I think the only physical part about fighting is the requirements to fight, being able to get to the fight, make weight and that but it’s like, even making weight is mental. Even when it comes to skill sharpening, it’s mental.
If you’re more athletic, good for you but there’s not people that get those benefits anyway. So a lot of times, fighting is mental in general.
So I can’t be the one that pulls me out of this thing that is life. If I’m heading towards something and I believe in it or if I’m doing something, I like it at a certain aspect. I can’t try to trick myself into not enjoying it or not wanting to be here.
There’s going to be times where it’s a little bit easier than others and there’s always going to be times where I love it more than I don’t love it but the point is I don’t want to be the person that puts a block in between me and fighting.
I don’t want to be a person that puts my overthinking or overanalyzing in between what I love to do and what I need to do. So it’s just more of, if it’s going to get taken away from me, it’s not going to be up to me. It just won’t.
You give me enough time, I’ll talk myself out of anything. (laughs) So it’s just more of, try not to listen to myself and just putting my nose down, one foot in front of the other and just heading in one direction.
John Powell: I had an incident with my heart and it changed my perspective of life and the world. I want to know if you experienced the same thing after what happened to you. Did your view of the world and perhaps of yourself change having gone through all that?
Josiah Harrell: I think you have to. I’s very hard for you not to see the world differently. It’s very hard for you not to be like, “Oh, okay, I could have died at any moment.”
Growing up, I could have, at any moment, been no longer here, and somehow I’m still here. It makes you think of that if you roll the dice enough times, at some point, no matter how many sides are on the dice, at some point you’re gonna hit one.
And if you do hit that one, you’re gone. You’re no longer here. The dice has to be loaded at some point. There’s got to be some sort of higher power that’s looking down. And for me, it’s Jesus. And for somebody else, I can’t answer for them, but I know the answer for me, and I know the answer that I would recommend.
But other than that, I think that you face death, the thought of it, enough that you’ll find God.
John Powell: If you weren’t in MMA, if you didn’t follow your dream, Josiah, what would you be doing right now? What would have interested you? What draws you?
Josiah Harrell: So much. I get scatterbrained. (laughs) So, yeah, it could have been the next thing. So if MMA was three months delayed, the likelihood that I was in the Army is through the roof but realistically, I end up going Army and then back to school because I plan on going back to school anyways.
I just want to grow mentally. That’s my next goal. If I’m not heading in some sort of direction, I think I’ll lose my mind.
Right now, it’s fighting and taking care of that. I got, what, maybe eight to 10 more years, if that? That’s a long time to be doing something but still, I know that after that, there’s an age limit to fighting and I don’t want to be somebody who constantly comes back and just makes a run and what they did, their legacy, so much worse.
So it’s just being aware of that. Either way, I think I would end up going back to school and scientific studies.
I enjoy the human body when it comes to whether hurting it or just discovering more about it. And I think that, as of right now, that would be my answer.
John Powell: Would you ever want to be, like, a trainer or coach along those lines?
Josiah Harrell: I might need to take a break after fighting a little bit, just so I can get that urge to compete out of me. But once the urge to compete is out of me, I think I could.
I do enjoy coaching. I enjoy helping the little ones. I enjoy helping where I can. It’s just, it’s very hard to be somebody who trains to compete and also trains to help others.
Like, there’s a fine line. You can do both, but it’s a very, very, very small line.
John Powell: What do you like to do, Josiah? What takes up your time?
Josiah Harrell: If I’m not training and I’m not fighting, I’m a little bit of a nerd. I like Pokémon. I just downloaded Pokémon FireRed to go through that.
I got Magic cards in my bag just in case somebody wants to challenge me. I like writing, trying to get my thoughts out. It just depends. I just need a creative outlet. So, at some point, probably like six days down the line, I might be like, “I’m an artist now. Let me try to learn how to draw.” Six days after that, I’d be like, “I suck at drawing. Time for something else.”
John Powell: I have to ask you, on top of that, Gengar is my favorite. Who’s your favorite Pokémon?
Josiah Harrell: Who is my favorite Pokémon? Scizor! He’s very good. That’s all I cared about was the competitive scene it is and battling other people.
John Powell: Well, it’s really funny because I got into that, and also Yu-Gi-Oh!, because my son got into it, so I started to learn. Then I started to appreciate and then I started playing.
Josiah Harrell: Yeah, it really doesn’t matter what type of person you are. There’s a Pokémon for you. I appreciate the fact that you’re so good at home about your son. That’s amazing. Just being able to help him out. I remember I have a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck somewhere.
I remember it’s a difficult game. It was difficult to try to learn at first. I’d have to relearn it but even then having a dad like that would be dope. So kudos to you.
John Powell: Well, thank you. But yeah, Yu-Gi-Oh!, I found, is more like chess. You’ve got to think two steps ahead. You’ve got to plan and all. You do have a background in football. Was there any thought to pursuing that, Josiah?
Josiah Harrell: Yeah, no, that was my first love. It’s football. For a long time, that’s what I wanted to do and it’s weird looking back because if I would have done anything other than fighting, there’s no other thing, not even the Army, there’s no other way I’m getting an MRI on my brain until I start having seizures.
So it’s a blessing but yes, football was my first love. I did want to play professionally but the first dream sometimes doesn’t work out. Sometimes the second dream. Sometimes it’s the 15th dream. (laughs) All we can do as humans is keep chasing something.
John Powell: Who were your influences growing up?
Josiah Harrell: I realized at a young age that a lot of people aren’t as glorious as they seem to be. I think that I seen the good and the bad in a lot of people, including my mother and father. I took the best parts that I could from everybody and I took that and put that into fighting as well. I took bits and pieces from styles I love. I took bits and pieces from moves or transitions that I loved and I try to make my own.
I kind of took that philosophy and had that philosophy my whole life. I don’t want to be anybody else other than me and I do appreciate people for being themselves, but for some reason, I feel like if I wasn’t myself, I would be giving up on myself. If that makes sense.
John Powell: Thanks for your time and best of luck to you this weekend. Hope things go well and the training pays off. It was wonderful talking to you.
Josiah Harrell: Thank you, John. I appreciate it. Maybe one day we’ll play some Yu-Gi-Oh!
John Powell: Hey, anytime, anytime.
UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs. Barcelos is on Paramount+ this Saturday.
Prelims: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
Main Card: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Full Fight Card
Main Card (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos (Bantamweight)
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Robert Bryczek (Middleweight)
Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simon (Bantamweight)
Mehemmedeli Osmanli vs. Ilimbek Akylbek (Bantamweight)
Melissa Amaya vs. Tina Black (Women’s Strawweight)
Brady Hiestand vs. Rinya Nakamura (Bantamweight)
Prelims (5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT)
Rodolfo Bellato vs. Christian Edwards (Light Heavyweight)
Elves Brener vs. Josiah Harrell (Lightweight)
Ricky Simon vs. Montel Jackson (Bantamweight)
Ailin Perez vs. Norma Dumont (Women’s Bantamweight)
Alatengheili vs. John Castaneda (Bantamweight)
Sedriques Dumas vs. Mickey Gall (Middleweight)
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Yazmin Jauregui (Women’s Strawweight)
