How laughing at a guy in a red gi brought Kris Vereen to the co-main event of CFFC 101

Kris Vereen grew up fighting – sort of. It wasn't anything of the organized variety, but "The Problem" says he had to figure out how to fend for himself from time to time.

Not for one second did he ever think that was a glimpse into his future.

"My love was football," Vereen said. "I was a football guy. That was my thing."

Vereen was a defensive back and played collegiately at East Central Oklahoma and would play a bit professionally in an indoor league, but he was still supporting himself by bartending. One day, a friend of his arrived at his workplace wearing a gi, and Vereen immediately started laughing at him – but always a little bit intrigued.

"One of my good friends who's also a professional MMA fighter, Kelvin Rayford, he had walked into the job and he had a red gi on, and I just made fun of him for it," Vereen said. "I made so much fun of him. Mind you, I'm like a football player. I have this little ego. I probably shouldn't have. But, you know, I remember him wearing that gi, and I was just like, 'Man, what's going on?' He was like, 'All right, come down and try some judo.' I was like, 'All right, that seems cool.' I tackle people all day, you know?

"I remember my first day in the judo hall – oh, man, I literally got thrown by like a 13-year-old kid, and I was just like, 'Wow, that was humbling.' But I loved the challenge of judo. I loved the challenge."

Vereen immediately had a new outlet for his competitive drive. From judo, he transitioned to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as well as MMA training with Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Cortez Coleman. There were still no plans to fight, but the passion was building.

"I didn't ever want to fight," Vereen said. "I just wanted to learn it – you know, just in case I had to defend myself or anything like that, and it always looks cool on TV, of course. I got signed up for my first jiu-jitsu tournament. I did decent, but I didn't do too well. Then the competitive side came out in me. I wanted to compete more."

In 2016, Vereen took his first amateur contest. Two years later, he figured he might as well start taking home a little money for his effort.

"I was just like, dude, you know, I'm getting punched in the face and kicked and all this stuff," Vereen said. "I'm pretty much in a legal street fight. I might as well start getting paid for this stuff, you know? So I was just like, 'Let's do it, man.'"

Five pro appearances later, and now working in Texas at Genesis Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Vereen (5-0) is an undefeated welterweight prospect. On Saturday, he takes on fellow undefeated talent Jonathan Piersma (3-0) in the co-main event of CFFC 101, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Parx Casino in Bensalem, Penn.

It's Vereen's promotional debut, and he's excited about the opportunity in front of him.

"Man, this is the biggest moment I've ever had," Vereen said. "It's huge. You're fighting on Fight Pass, and you are fighting for a good promotion. It's just outside of Philadelphia. You're just kind of like, 'Man, this is kind of like what it feels like, you know, hopefully if I'm blessed enough to make it to the UFC.' If I'm blessed, I hope it's like this. So many emotions leading up right now. It's almost here."

Vereen knows there will be stiff competition on the other side of the cage. Piersma is actually a former collegiate football player, as well, and he's shown a dangerous ground game thus far in his career.

"I have a very dangerous opponent in Jonathan Piersma," Vereen said. "He's finished all of his fights with amazing submissions, so he's a great jiu-jitsu practitioner. I have nothing but respect for the guy. I don't know him personally, but from what I see, the guy is a level-headed guy. I just know he's a game fighter and he's coming to win, and I have nothing but respect for a fighter like him."

While he may respect Piersma, Vereen has every intention of winning the fight. With an impressive career record, he certainly has his eyes on the next level, but he's also not rushing the move. Once Vereen gets that invite, he plans on staying at the sport's top level.

"I'm a firm believer in God, and it's His timing," Vereen said. "You know, if I'm blessed enough to win this fight and I'm able to move on to the next level, then we're going to be ready for it. If not, then, you know, maybe it's not my time. Maybe I need to go back to the lab and dial it up and work on some things before I get put in that situation.

“What happens is a lot of these guys, they take these fights and they go to the UFC and they're not ready for the UFC. They're not ready for that talent, and it shows, you know? You've got the whole world watching you, and it shows. So my goal is yes, to get to the UFC. Absolutely. Anybody else in the fight game, you want to get to the UFC. You want to get to Bellator. You want to get to PFL. So, yes, that is my goal, and, you know, I hope those things can happen after this."

First, though, Vereen has to take care of business on Saturday. While it's a position he never anticipated, he's all in now.

"Everybody tune in," Vereen said. "This is going to be a great fight. Not only my fight, but it's going to be a great, amazing card. CFFC, thank you so much for having me."