Jameel Massouh: Pastor’s Son Is High On Wisconsin

By Frank Curreri

Jameel Massouh is a lifelong Cheesehead and super proud of it. His home state, Wisconsin, is well known to outsiders for its abundant cheeses, deep freezes and historic Lambeau Field. Although the “Badger State” is not widely hailed as fertile ground for producing MMA talent, Massouh believes that second-tier reputation is undeserved. He is adamant that perception needs to catch up with reality.

“Wisconsin probably has the most underrated talent in all of MMA,” Massouh proclaimed, immediately firing off a list of Wisconsinite fighters such as Patrick Barry, Eric Shafer, Brian Geraghty, Nick Agallar, Sherron Leggett and Sergio Gomez. “I can’t even tell you how many good fighters come out of Wisconsin. We’ve got tons of good fighters. Anyone who thinks that Wisconsin’s fighters are just small-town fighters or whatever, they have another thing coming because we have the best fighters, I think, in all of the world.”

Massouh, who trains under Dave Strasser in Kenosha, can give his fellow Wisconsinites reason to rejoice if he can beat highly-regarded Raphael Assuncao when they clash on April 5 in Chicago, which is roughly a 90-minute drive from Kenosha. Massouh is eager to put on a spectacular performance in his WEC debut, which will be featured on the main card and televised on the Versus network.

“It’s going to be exciting, fast-paced, and fans will see lots of good technique,” promised Massouh, who holds a 21-4 record and has finished 17 of his opponents. “I’m in great shape and I like to use things that most fighters don’t normally use. My flexibility is fantastic and I’m a big fan of the rubber guard. I don’t like to fight off my back, it’s the last place I want to be, but I’m really good from there, too. It’s kind of my forte. I’m always developing; I’ve got a liver kick TKO (for a win), so I’m not just a jiu-jitsu guy.”

Assuncao, a decorated jiu-jitsu player who trains under Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti in Atlanta, is considered a Top 10 contender at 145 pounds. He is 12-1 and, like Massouh, ultra-aggressive inside of the cage.

“I think he’s very talented,” Massouh said of Assuncao. “He’s short, stocky, very strong and a well-conditioned athlete. I know he trains with a great camp and has really good Brazilian jiu-jitsu. My impression is that he likes to go out there, take people down and bully them around. I know he’s not afraid to pound on guys, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to do that to me successfully. I don’t get bullied around easily, I don’t get intimidated easily, and part of that is because I keep my composure. One thing I’ve learned from all of my fights is that you have to stay calm and composed in bad situations. That’s one of my greatest strengths as a fighter. I just don’t get rattled that easily, even if I’m in big trouble, because I don’t want to dump my adrenaline and I don’t want to lose my mind or my train of thought.”

There is another reason for Massouh’s confidence: Size. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a long, lanky frame. More importantly, he intends to pack on a lot of weight between the weigh-in and fight night.
“He’s beaten a lot of good fighters, but I will be huge at 145 pounds,” Massouh said. “They don’t really come bigger than me at 145 pounds.”

Massouh, 24, has strong ties to the Chicago area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education (with a concentration on History) from Trinity International College in nearby Deerfield, Ill. It is the same college where his father, Samir, is a professor of biblical studies. Jameel, whose parents divorced when he was a child, lives with his father, who is Arabic and came to the United States decades ago from Lebanon. Jameel’s mother is Scottish-Irish.

“My dad has always been good about it,” Jameel said, referring to his chosen profession. “He doesn’t like to watch my fights, he’s really sensitive to that sort of thing, seeing his son in there and the potential for me to get hurt. He’s always been supportive but he can’t watch it because he’s so afraid of what might happen.”

To prepare for his fights, Jameel confronts his own doubts and fears and seeks strength in his faith. He prays before every fight, and his prayers have always been answered – even though he has four losses. That’s because Massouh doesn’t pray for victory.

“I definitely do place faith in God,” he said. “Every time I fight I get nervous. I’m going in there and my sole purpose is to beat up the other guy and his sole purpose is to injure me and end the fight. That’s what we’re there to do. No matter how many times I fight – and I’ve fought 25 times now – every time I’m nervous and I’m afraid of what could happen. I pray that God will let me use my technique to the best of my ability. And I always pray that regardless of what happens, that God will keep me and my opponent relatively safe, nothing serious. Please don’t have me have a broken arm or dislocated leg or break my neck or something that takes forever to heal or could be career-ending. So far those prayers have worked. I get hurt more in practice than I ever have in a fight.”

He looks like such a mild-mannered guy, sort of like a Josh Groban kind of guy, but Jameel Massouh should not be underestimated. He is a crafty and courageous fighter, and he’s hungry to prove his mettle to the world, and to disprove anyone who thinks Wisconsin is not a hotbed of MMA talent.