Josh Childs Coleman Concepts interview on his MMA return

In the Josh Childs Coleman Concepts interview, the Staten Island heavyweight told Brandon Coleman that coaching wrestling brought him back to MMA after three opening losses and three years away. Childs also described a unanimous-decision win that became a no contest after an opponent’s coach challenged his weight. He wants to use fighting to help young people in New York.

How did Josh Childs move from the Marine Corps and wrestling into MMA?

Josh Childs said wrestling helped him through his time in the United States Marine Corps, while his posting in California gave him a route into MMA. After losing at the 2020 Olympic qualifier trials, he decided to continue fighting rather than keep pursuing wrestling competition. He credits his service with helping him handle difficult moments in a fight.

Wrestling and the Marine Corps

Childs said he had wrestled since he was 15 and was 32 at the time of the conversation. Wrestling remained important when he entered the Marine Corps, but he saw fewer opportunities to continue competing in the sport after high school and college. Stationed in California, he chose an MMA gym.

He described California and nearby Las Vegas as places where MMA was prominent. His change of direction was not immediate: he also pursued the 2020 Olympic qualifier trials and said he lost. That result helped him decide he was done with wrestling competition and wanted to keep fighting.

Using service experience in a fight

For Childs, the transition involved more than bringing wrestling skills into the cage. He said the adversity he experienced in the Marine Corps gave him a point of comparison when an MMA fight became difficult. Childs summed up that response to pressure in a short line:

I've been through worse.

He presented that thought as something he tells himself during tough situations, rather than a claim that fighting is easy. Wrestling had helped him get through his service; his service, in turn, became part of how he approached MMA.

Why did Josh Childs return to MMA after losing his first three fights?

Josh Childs said he stepped away from MMA for three years after losing his first three fights. Coaching wrestling at the high school he had attended drew him back toward competition: working with the students, then grappling again after moving back to New York, made him want another fight. He now wants to build opportunities for those students and his community.

Coaching at his former high school

Childs said the students he coached were the reason he returned to competing. After the losses, he had questioned whether he wanted to fight anymore. Back in New York, he began grappling a little while coaching and found himself wanting to take another fight.

That return gave his fighting a purpose beyond his own results. He said he wants to use whatever platform he develops to help his hometown. The connection between coaching and competing matters to him: the young wrestlers helped bring him back, and he wants to create more places where young people can train.

Plans for wrestling and MMA clubs in New York

Childs said he wants to open wrestling clubs and MMA clubs in New York. He described the goal as helping his community, not as an existing business or a project with a stated opening date. His experience coaching at his old school is the example he gave for why access to those sports matters to him.

What did Josh Childs say about Henry Cejudo and the UFC heavyweight division?

Josh Childs singled out Henry Cejudo’s fight IQ, particularly from a coaching perspective, during a discussion of accomplished UFC fighters. When the conversation turned to heavyweights, Childs said bringing in younger talent could change the division because many fighters are retiring and, in his view, heavyweights do not last long.

Henry Cejudo’s coaching mindset

Childs placed Cejudo among the fighters he rated highly for fight IQ, explaining his choice through Cejudo’s coaching mindset. Brandon Coleman pressed him on the selection, saying it was the first time he had heard someone place Cejudo there. The two also discussed two-division champions, including Conor McGregor and Amanda Nunes.

The wider conversation named Daniel Cormier, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones. Childs’s clearest stated reason for his Cejudo pick, though, was how he viewed Cejudo’s thinking as a fighter and coach, rather than a comparison of records.

New talent at heavyweight

Coleman raised the UFC heavyweight picture, including Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. Childs did not give an extended account of their situation. His direct point about the division was that younger arrivals could make a difference as other heavyweights retire.

He also described one prospective heavyweight title challenger as a natural athlete with a wrestling background, while saying he was unsure whether that fighter had earned a title shot yet. Childs framed the question as one of timing, not a dismissal of the athlete’s ability.

How did Josh Childs approach injuries and his drop from 316 pounds?

Josh Childs said he was taking care of himself and rehabilitating injuries accumulated over the years. He also said he weighed 316 pounds in August and had reached about 280 pounds by the time he spoke with Coleman. Although he still wanted to lose more weight, Childs emphasized that he felt more mentally ready to fight.

Rehabilitation and mental readiness

Asked about where he stood, Childs described his work on recovery without naming a specific injury or treatment. He said he felt ready, then clarified that mental readiness was what he most wanted to stress. He did not give a timetable for completing his rehabilitation.

That distinction followed his account of leaving MMA after three losses and finding a reason to return through coaching. Childs spoke about continuing to train and compete while also addressing the physical effects of earlier years.

Weight loss ahead of another fight

Childs put his August weight at 316 pounds and his later weight at about 280. He said he had roughly 12 to 15 more pounds to lose. He did not describe a particular diet or training method for the change.

The weight mattered to him for another reason: he wanted to show that he could meet a required weight after criticism connected to an earlier fight. Coleman said Childs was preparing for a fight on October 3, but neither a year nor an opponent was specified.

Why did Josh Childs say his decision win became a no contest?

Josh Childs said he fought twice eight days apart in June, winning the first by submission and the second by unanimous decision. According to Childs, the second result was changed to a no contest after the opposing coach complained to the state about his weight, despite having accepted the fight beforehand. Childs said the episode motivated him to make weight when required.

Two fights eight days apart

Childs described the quick turnaround as another source of motivation. He said he submitted his first opponent, then earned a unanimous decision in the next bout. He did not name either opponent or give the year of those June fights.

What stayed with him was the change to the second result. Childs said the opposing coach had accepted the fight before raising the weight complaint afterward. His account identifies the complaint as the reason the decision became a no contest; he did not provide further details about the state’s ruling.

Responding to the weight criticism

Childs said people then criticized his ability to make weight. He responded by thinking back to the discipline he had used to cut weight when he was younger. For him, reaching the required weight became a way to answer that criticism through preparation rather than argument.

He said he wanted to show he could make weight when told to and still produce the same performance regardless of his size. It was a pointed response to the no contest, but also consistent with the larger reason he gave for returning: he intends to keep competing while helping the wrestlers and community that drew him back.

Who is Josh Childs?

Josh Childs is an MMA heavyweight and grappler from Staten Island, New York. He is pursuing a world championship in his division.