John Gotti's grandson had to carry some baggage from his family's mob past into the ring for his first professional cage fight, but then scored a first-round victory.
John Gotti III, 24, took down welterweight John Adams during a preliminary card bout at CES MMA 46 at the Twin Rivers Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island, USA Today Sports Blue Corner reported. A video of the fight's end was posted later on Twitter.
The mixed martial arts fight came on what would have been the 77th birthday of his grandfather John Gotti, Blue Corner said. John Gotti, who died in 2002 at 61, lead the Gambino crime family in New Yoek City in the mid-1980s and earned the nickname the "Teflon Don" for his ability to evade prosecution, The New York Times said.
The elder Gotti was convicted in 1992 and was serving a life sentence in prison when he died, the newspaper said. Gotti III said in an interview after his fight that winning his first bout on his grandfather's birthday was special.
"(There's) no better feeling than right now," the younger Gotti said in the interview. "Right now, I'm on Cloud 9. I'm over the top with joy I worked very hard for this fight."
"… The fact that this comes on my grandfather's birthday and my first professional win, I'll never forget this ever," Gotti continued.
His father, John Gotti Jr., took over the Gambino crime family in 1992, the New York Post said, but was himself arrested on racketeering charges and was released from prison in 2008. Gotti III said in a statement before the fight that watching MMA with his father helped them bond, Blue Corner said.
"When my father first came home from prison, (MMA) was a means for us to bond," Gotti III said in the statement, per Blue Corner. "We would watch all the big fights together at home, as well as attending several cards in New Jersey.”
"I think now, as I've chosen this as a profession, although my father is proud of me, I think he regrets fostering my interest. I don't think he ever thought this would be the end result. What father wants to watch his son in this type of environment?" Gotti III continued.
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