Legacy Fighting Alliance comes to the Chicagoland area on Friday, February 4 when the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN will play host to LFA 123.
On a card filled with Chicagoland natives, Josh Streacker is one of them who looks forward to returning to a venue that has been friendly to him in front of his hometown fans. Originally a Bolingbrook native, Streacker (7-4) takes on Brazil’s Miguel Jacob (5-1) in a featured lightweight fight on the card taking place just before the co-main event.
Streacker has bounced all over the Chicagoland area before traveling out to Albuquerque, NM to train at the prestigious JacksonWink academy. After turning 30 this week and now coming back to fight in front of his home fans in a venue where he has received many of his career wins, we sat down to talk about where things will go from here:
So you’re originally from Bolingbrook, right?
“Yeah originally from Bolingbrook, then moved out to Plainfield, moved into Midway, moved into the city and I call the city my home. I was in Logan Square for the last five years of my time in Chicago and man I just had a blast even being there for the short period of time that I was, the city gives me some energy man. It’s fun man, it’s fun being back home.”
What does it mean to be fighting in front of your hometown crowd at Horseshoe Casino?
“Yeah so Horseshoe has treated me very well and a lot of my wins come from.”
“I’m super excited. It’ll be a great platform on UFC Fight Pass. I’m gonna have my loved ones beside me and we’re gonna take over, it’ll be fun.”
“I’m gonna have my loved ones beside me and we’re gonna take over, it’ll be fun.”
A lot of fighters say they’re actually more nervous when they have their friends and family there for their fights. How do you feel about that?
“I’ve been doing this long enough where I almost feel when I go into the cage it’s like peace. It’s a really cool place to be. I was there in October and I did have a decent amount of people drive the two and a half hours to Kokomo, Indiana and I’ll have even more to this one so I’m super excited. When I’m in there I’m there by myself. I get some energy as I’m running in there but when I’m in there it’s like every Thursday at JacksonWink, one of the best gyms in the world and I don’t wanna jinx it, but I don’t really feel too much pressure, even in front of my family and my loved ones.”
What are some of your goals for 2022?
“One of them is to go 4-0 and it starts one fight at a time, that’s why this fight is so big to me. I wanna go 4-0 at 155 pounds, I’m already 1-0 at 155, but for 2022 we gotta get four more. That puts us at 5-0 at 155 pounds, and then that gets to my second goal, sign a multi-fight contract with one of the big organizations. So I know that I can do that, but it’s just about the process and the process is to keep on winning in dominant fashion which I do, a lot of.”
“I wanna go 4-0 at 155 pounds… and then that gets me to my second goal, sign a multi-fight contract with one of the big organizations.”
You fought most of your career at welterweight but recently switched to lightweight. Why do you think that was the right move for you?
“Yeah so a couple of reasons. Number one, I’ve always been a light welterweight. Still knocked out a bunch of big big dudes so I felt very confident. I was 5-1 at welterweight dropping probably 2-3 pounds to make the weight at 170 and eventually it catches up to you especially when you face your 6’ 5” guys, 6’ 4” guys, the guys that have way longer reach than you. And then you face you know your 200 pound wrestler that like if he gets his hands on you it’s a problem. There’s no secret that this sport is predicated upon size and the ability to impose your will on another person, whether or not that is using your jab, using your kicks, using your wrestling advantage or striking advantage, you know.
So, at that point our record became topsy-turvy, it was 6-4, so simply just not acceptable to me. So I had to make a change and the cool thing is we dropped down to 155. It’s a weight that I can easily make and it’s a weight that I feel almost faster at because I have to be cleaner in my diet and I have to be better with my conditioning and I’m stronger than just about everybody at 155 pounds. I feel really comfortable at this weight, I feel very powerful, and so now I’ll be able to impose my will.”
“I’m stronger than just about everybody at 155 pounds.”
“The cool thing, I was talking with my manager Rick… we kind of swing it like I’m 1-0 at 155 pounds, I’m 2-0 at 155, I’m 3-0 at 155. That is kind of how you get to the big leagues a little bit more efficiently rather than me being 6-4, 7-4, 8-4…. 155 is my division I’ll rule for a while.”
What have you learned in your time working at JacksonWink?
“Yeah it’s so awesome man. There’s a component of two pieces… the level of competition went through the roof coming from Chicago to down there. And then number two is the coaching. The coaching down there is phenomenal. It’s all geared towards championship building and championship grooming and what’s really cool is I’ve built a connection with a lot of the great coaches in there and they are, I don’t want to say grooming me, but they are ears. I can talk to them about anything at any point in time… And all my teammates have such great knowledge as well. It’s just fantastic to be down there.”
“The coaching down there is phenomenal.”
You just turned 30 this week. What are the birthday celebration plans for after the fight?
(Laughing) “Aw man that’s one of those things that keeps me going you know. Because you’re in this tough point in time where you’re losing weight, not eating, stuff like that. So I mean being with my loved ones, being with my friends. My brother just had a baby and I haven’t seen her, so I’m going to definitely go out to the suburbs and see her. That’ll kind of rejuvenate me in a way, but definitely gonna celebrate.”
“I’m a little bit of a gambler so being at the casino tables, I will definitely partake. And then after that, we’re gonna celebrate hard, we’re gonna have a lot of fun. I’ve got a bunch of people in the city and that’s where I’ll be.”
The full, uncut, version of the interview can be viewed above.
LFA 123 takes place at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN on Friday, February 4 featuring Josh Streacker (7-4) vs. Miguel Jacob (5-1) in a lightweight bout. The event will be streaming live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 8 PM CST.
