Determined to improve

A rejuvenated and fearless Jason Powell will step into the cage Friday night.

The 145-pound Powell will face Josh Crouch at Fight Me MMA's Friday the 13th event held at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

Powell grew up at Ft. Leonard Wood, just south of Rolla. He was a standout baseball player in high school who then entered the armed forces after graduation. He did two tours of duty in Iraq and also a tour in Afghanistan. It was in the service where Powell picked up boxing and then fell in love with mixed martial arts.

"I didn't know a lot about MMA then," Powell said. "Some buddies were into it and showed me some fights. Now I'm obsessed. You walk into my house and you know a fighter lives there."

He is almost guaranteed to put on a better performance than last November's Fight Me MMA event. Powell fought in the first fight of the night against Brandon Knight and before fans could get positioned in their seats, Knight caught Powell in a guillotine, forcing him to tap 28 seconds into the fight.

Powell put together a quality amateur record of 6-3 before turning professional. On Friday he faces a seasoned veteran in Crouch, who had 16 amateur fights before turning pro.

Powell is an animated, exciting fighter who you can usually count on to bring it every time he steps into the ring. He has a lot of his plate outside of the cage. He is now one of the lead coaches for the Missouri National guard combatives unit. Powell is studying computer graphic design at ITT tech and is also a security guard Missouri Baptist.