By ALEXANDREA BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
“I’ll bring back a belt to Port Isabel for sure.” ~ Brayan Medina.
In the last few years, Port Isabel has produced two young fighters: Robert Maldanado and Brayan Medina. Flyweight Medina, (5’4, 126 lbs) currently sports a 2-2 record after securing his second win on Saturday, March 15 at a Texas Fight League match in Brownsville. He says his motivation comes from the undying support of his hometown.
Port Isabel has always been Medina’s home. Much to their parents’ displeasure, Medina and his five brothers grew up wrestling with each other, unknowingly training young Medina for his future in mixed martial arts [MMA]. In junior high, Medina began participating in multiple sports, including basketball, soccer and football. He says that for much of his life, other kids picked on him for his smaller stature. However, Medina didn’t let it get to him. Instead, he says he channeled that negativity by alchemizing it into motivation. The hectoring made him feistier and more aggressive, he says, and taught him how to “fight back.”
Believe it or not, growing up, Medina wasn’t too interested in MMA. He did enjoy watching WWE, though, and later, professional boxing. With time, Medina became a fan Canelo, aka Saul Álvarez, a professional Mexican boxer, drawing inspiration from his multiple world championships across several weight classes. At 15 years old, Medina began training to box, following in the footsteps of his role model. Afterwards, he veered in the opposite direction and began learning the art of jujutsu and, later, kick boxing. In late 2021, Medina participated in a grappling match, which ended in a draw. After months of dedicated training, determined to better his fighting style, Medina took on a jujutsu tournament in Brownsville, where he
took home first place. From there, his confidence grew. He participated in a boxing smoker in 2023 with little experience, but he thoroughly enjoyed it, inciting an eagerness to fight again. Eventually, Medina transitioned into MMA.
He eagerly competed in his first MMA fight last year, on Jan. 2, 2024. He didn’t win; he says his biggest weaknesses were a lack of experience and knowledge on his competitor. “You gotta know who you’re fighting,” said Medina. He’s chalked the loss up to a “learning experience.” Medina has been training nonstop ever since.
Medina currently trains at two gyms, BKC in Port Isabel and EVO Fight in Brownsville. At BKC, Jason Lee has been coaching Medina for three years now. Medina says Lee has taught him so many great things, one of the most important being to “outwork everyone else.” The fighter says that his coach has instilled determination in him, making sure he knows that every time he falls, all he has to do is get back up. Under Lee’s guidance, Medina has developed his grappling skills, which the fighter says gives him the confidence to step foot in the cage.
At EVO, Medina’s kickboxing coach is Victor Solis. He’s trained under him for only a year and a half so far. Solis has been an inspiring role model to Medina, he says, and more so, a friend.
Although he may lack the experience of older fighters, Medina doesn’t make any excuses. He trains hard, he says, maybe he even harder than his veteran opponents. When training, he hones in on what he knows he needs to work on, based on his performance in previous fights, as well as conditioning.
“I’ve learned that you can’t lose your gas tank. You gotta have a big gas tank. Whether you’re not the best striker out there, or the best wrestler, you gotta have the bigger gas tank,” said Medina.
According to Medina, one thing that keeps his gas tank full is his desire to represent Port Isabel and get his hometown’s name on the map.
Another thing that keeps Medina going while preparing for a fight, is that first meal he’ll get to chow down on after weeks of weight-cutting. He’s a pasta, meat and potato fein.
Medina says it’s important to “be yourself in the cage.” He says fighting isn’t only a physical battle but also a mental one. It’s about balance; between listening to his coaches and maintaining focus on his opponent, Medina calls each fight an art.
Opponents beware, Medina’s favorite strike is an uppercut, and his favorite submission, which he has yet to hit, is a rear naked choke. He says that because he is on the shorter side, he has to be more aggressive and bum-rush his opponents. In each fight, Medina strives to close this distance, shooting quick body shots.
Jairo Briones, the fighter who faced Medina at the March 15 match, felt the heat. Flyweight Briones (5’8, 124 lbs) was the first Valley fighter Medina had taken on, after fighting guys from San Antonio, Mexico, and Houston. After falling to Medina, Briones now sports a 1-2 record. Medina says Briones’ strengths lie in his striking, having eaten a few good hits from his opponent and bringing home a black eye that earned him some funky stares for the next couple days.
“A lot of people don’t believe there’s talent in the Valley, and he proved otherwise. He’s tough. It was a good fun fight. The crowd loved it too,” said Medina.
Going into the match with a game plan, Medina says he knew he could take Briones down. He had trained extra hard on his grappling technique prior to the fight. “I underestimated his grappling for sure. He was real slippery,” said Medina. Medina called it an “active” fight, with lots of exchanges, but he was confident he’d earn points on the take downs and ground control.
After observing the fight’s playback, Medina believes he’s improved in his boxing a lot, as he got a few good strikes in, himself. “I was satisfied with the progress,” said Medina.
According to Regional MMA Rankings, Medina is the #6,724 ranked MMA fighter in the North America region. When he’s not fighting, he runs his own lawn care business. Medina says he treasures the relationships he’s built within the fighting community.
Medina says one of his biggest supporters is his fiancé, Danaka Camacho. He also shouts out his teammates and sponsors from his hometown for their continuous support.
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