When the sun goes down, banker Angelus McFarlane, who wears a suit and tie daily, dons a whole new uniform to “work.”

            McFarlane leaves the bank and transforms into Angelus McFarlane the MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter.

McFarlane says that he gets blank stares from peers quite often.

“Every single day, everywhere I go, I’ll get e-mails or phone calls or I’ll meet someone at my day job and it just comes up in conversation what I do in my spare time,” McFarlane explained. “They look at me as a slim guy, wearing glasses, a suit and tie whose’ soft spoken. They don’t understand.”

How journey began

            McFarlane’s journey in MMA began six years ago while lifting weights in his garage.

“Six years ago, the owner of Bam Bam Martial Arts Center Scott Sullivan was on ESPN and he was talking about the Rampage fight. He said call in if you think he’s going to win, so I called in and gave him a few bits of information on why I thought Rampage was this and the opponent was that,” McFarlane said. ‘“Well you seem pretty knowledgeable; you should come by the school.”’

Thus, McFarlane’s journey began.

“I showed up, did classes; a couple weeks later I was a whole member. I was signing up for fights, sparring, getting everything back,” said McFarlane. “Scott took me under his wing and showed me everything. Then I said OK, you know what, I’m going to do this all the way and become a mixed martial artist.”

“No one stands alone”

            As of May 4, McFarlane needs one more win to become a professional mixed martial artist.

Before stepping into the ring, McFarlane said he likes to reminisce about the people who have supported him in the past.

“Before, I used to watch everybody, look around and try to be involved because I had so much anxiety. Now I preset some music, put my playlist together, plug in my headphones, put on my hoodie and chill out until it’s time to warm up with my coaches,” he said. “I think about everyone who has invested in me – my wife, my son, my coaches, my teammates and sponsors.”

            McFarlane said he believes he owes a debt to those who assisted him during his training days.

            “As far as I’m concerned, I am the embodiment of everything they put together to put me in the ring,” the 35-year-old banker said. “I think about it as no one stands alone, and it’s not pressure. It’s just a responsibility and honor I have to pay back to them.”

“Bad psychotic joy”

            When he got into the ring for the first time, the anxiety came back but in a rather different form, McFarlane said.

“I had anxiety that was exciting, I was filled with anticipation. But as soon as I saw my opponent across the ring and he looked at me, I got this amazing sense of some bad psychotic joy. I know there’s one picture of me with this grin on my face like the joker himself. I was so overwhelmed; I felt like I was on top of the empire state building and ready to jump.”

            After a tough battle between great warriors inside of the ring, McFarlane has a set plan on how to get back to reality on ground level.

“The minute the referee raises my hand, I put the switch back and look for my wife. She kisses whatever part of my face is not banged up or bruised up to let me know that everything is good. I see everyone’s face all happy and smiling here and there congratulating me on a good job,” he said. “I go back to the locker room, get my stuff and go to the doc to get checked out, and then I just want to know where we are going to go (celebrate).”

Ultimate Fighting

            There has been a monumental up rise in UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) popularity, in Houston specifically.

“If we look back at first UFC when it was televised, back in the late 90’s early 2000’s, we had Pride FC. When Pride was broadcasting in the United States, UFC came out and put a whole new spin on the system. They made it a little cleaner; they had rules and things like that. The exposure hit mainstream and people saw a new style in fighting, that mixed everything traditional, karate, kung fu etc. even someone who just knows how to throw a few punches, and blended those skills to make one great fighter.”

            By buying a ticket to any fight at any price in Houston, it is easy to see the enormous participation of fans eager to see their favorite fighter succeed.

Day versus night job

“I try to go to almost every fight, whether I’m fighting or my friends are doing it, and it’s always sold out. We’re talking about arenas like the Verizon and the House of Blues, it’s packed and that’s just one venue. There are all these other fights and shows that go on and the number of gyms opening up for the sport has gone from zero to 100 in just the past few years! It’s huge; I don’t see a ceiling for it. If there was, I think it has gone through the roof and that’s without exaggerating. I see more people buying tickets, more people asking questions and more people interested. The average person knows what MMA is!” he exclaims.

            With all this escalation in popularity and stress on winning the match, McFarlane still manages to balance his mentality between his day and night job.

             “Being a banker is just like being in the cage, somebody is always trying to hit you and get at you. But at the same time, they are so vastly different that one allows me downtime from the other,” McFarlane explained. “My coach says you can’t always be in fight mode. Keep your mentality outside the cage until it’s time to step into the cage and vice versa. You are not the same person outside as is inside, so it’s my responsibility to know the difference. A good fighter is a responsible fighter.”