“I Fought Under Jr Frye” – UFC 8 Winner Don Frye Once Disclosed to Joe Rogan How ‘Sneaky Deals’ Forced Him To Fight Under Different Names As He Discussed His MMA Journey

Don Frye is one of the oldest fighters in the UFC. He began his UFC career with UFC 8 and ended it with a record of 9-1. The former mixed martial artist appeared in ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, where he told the story of his entry into the UFC.

In the JRE episode #112, Joe Rogan and Don Frye talked about Fyre’s entry to the UFC and his previous fighting experiences. In the same episode, Frye also revealed the reasons for which he changed his name.

Don Frye talks about the change in his name

“When did you – you started out, was like UFC 8. Was that your first fight?”, asked Joe Rogan. “First in the UFC. I’ve fought before”, replied Don Frye. When Rogan talked about boxing and kickboxing, Frye clarified that he didn’t do kickboxing. “No kickboxing”, he said, “I did boxing. I think I had eight fights. I think I was two and six [2-6-0], or two five and one [2-5-1], I don’t know. Because I fought my first two as Don Frye and I won those. And then I had an argument with my trainer and so we split. So, then I fought under Jr Frye.”

Then Joe Rogan asked Frye the reason for which he changed his name. “Well, that was my name growing up as Junior, so Jr”, Frye answered. Additionally, he added that his parents and people at school called him Junior. He further revealed some bits of contractual reasons. “And then, I think I changed my name because of contractual, you know”, he said. Rogan guessed that Frye might have some deals with a manager. He said, “There’s a lot of those sneaky deals, huh.” 

Joe Rogan asks about Don Frye’s entry to the UFC

Frye spoke of his history as a wrestler in high school and his boxing bouts after his college days. “So when did you hear about the UFC?”, asked Rogan. Frye said, “I was a fireman. You know I just did the boxing, and then got out and did- started doing odd jobs for, you know, a year, year and a half.” Don Frye talked about his work with horses and then at the fire department and psychological facility. “Then I started doing judo, you know, because I needed something to do. So I started doing judo and advanced really quickly in that.” Frye explained how he got into Bisbee fire department and then, he had a chance encounter with the man who pulled him into the UFC.

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“We were sitting there watching something on TV and saw Dan, clip of Dan”, Frye went on talking about his encounter with Dan Severn. “He was doing some kind of bodyguard work for Robin [Quivers]. Then we saw Dan fight and I called him up and said f**k”, recalled Frye, “I said Dan, this is Don Frye. Remember me? I said this UFC stuff, can you get me on it? And he says yeah.” Frye said that it was Dan Severn who got him into fighting in the UFC. Severn got Frye around five or six fights around the US. 

Joe Rogan enquired if it was pre-UFC and if Frye fought the MMA before joining into the UFC. Frye responded that it was warehouse fighting. It was called HB, or No Holds Barred, back in Frye’s day. 

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Don Frye ended his UFC career and shifted to PRIDE FC New Japan Pro-Wrestling. With memories from the bare-knuckle fights, to winning the titles in UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96, Frye has made a special place in the fans’ hearts.