UFC St. Louis’ James Krause discusses the luxury of having other means of income besides MMA competition, when he plans to retire, and more.
James Krause doesn’t just rely on competing in the MMA cage to pay his bills. In other words, unlike some fighters, he has the luxury of stepping away from active competition when he feels the time is right.
Krause, also an entrepreneur, owns two gyms, including Glory MMA & Fitness in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and promotes regional MMA fights at Kansas City Fighting Alliance. To add onto that, up until a couple of months ago, he co-owned two Metro PCS stores in the Kansas City area.
Krause has no immediate plans to retire from fighting, but hanging his gloves up is always something he has to at least think about.
“I’ve always told myself I’d like to get out too soon rather than too late,” Krause told BloodyElbow.com. “I don’t know what that timeline looks like. I feel like I’m getting better every day still. I feel like I have a lot to bring to the table as a fighter. So I don’t really have an answer, but I can’t imagine it being two, three more years at most.”
Krause meets Alex White in a lightweight bout at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 124 in St. Louis. Should he win, he wants to seriously start to consider how far he can get in the sport over the next few years.
“When I initially started this, I said 30 (is when I’d retire) — I’m 31 now,” he said. “After I beat Alex, I’ll be on a four-fight win streak. I want to see where that goes, play that out; I feel like I deserve that right. I need to see that through for my career, see how far I can really take this. The second I feel like I don’t enjoy competing anymore, or the second I feel like I’m physically falling behind, I’ll quit no problem. I’m doing everything, taking all the precautions, to avoid those things, but at the end of the day, father time is undefeated, so we’ll see.”
Throughout his 10-plus-year MMA career, Krause has managed to stay unattached to the sport. He doesn’t let MMA consume his entire life. He makes time for other things, such as his businesses. And that’s a good thing, he said.
“Some people grow up with nothing else, because all they’ve been doing their whole life is fighting,” Krause said. “For me, I could quit today and I’d be fine; I’d figure it out. Obviously, the income from fighting is nice — I do well from fighting two, three times a year. It’s good money. I have other things, though. And I feel like other people don’t, and they’re not sure what to do with their life.
“This is the thing: some fighters let the sport of MMA be their identity. Like, they attach the sport with their name. And that is not me. MMA (is) a platform for me — it’s not my purpose in life. I don’t really get attached to the sport at all; I get attached to my purpose in life, and that’s what I concern myself with. The sport of MMA does not define me as a person, or my future, by any means.”