Justin Wren may have never ventured back into the realm of mixed martial arts had he not experienced an almost-kismet-like vision about the Congo in 2011.
But according to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole, Wren followed what he thought was a plan from God to go to the Congo to offer aid to a massive group of enslaved people who are known as the Pygmies.
Four years removed from his first journey to the Congo, Wren has transformed himself from a lost athlete who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction to a humanitarian with a new and altruistic outlet to direct his energy.
A former competitor on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, the 27-year-old Wren not only created a foundation for the Pygmies that’s called “Fight for the Forgotten,” he also authored a book by the same name that’s slated to be published by Howard Books in September.
The 6’3″, 270-pound Wren also intends to fight again, and if he happens to garner any bonus money in the process, he plans to donate it all to the Pygmies.
Wren explained to Iole how in 2011—at a major turning point in his life and MMA career—he had a prophetic daydream about the Congo after praying to God for answers about his future.
I just prayed hard. I said, ‘God, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to fight? Do you want me to do something else?’ I had the offer from Dream, and it was a good amount of money for me and it was a good matchup and all of that. As I prayed, I felt it was a no. And that’s when I had the vision.
I was dreaming even though I was awake, and I saw myself in the Congo. I didn’t know it was the Congo. I saw myself in the jungle and there were these hurting people. They were sick and they were enslaved and they were thirsty and people just hated them. They were withering away with their ribs out. I saw them coughing up their lungs. It messed me up because I thought I was a crazy person.
Wren’s issues with drug addiction stemmed from a gruesome elbow injury he suffered while wrestling at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado in 2005. After nearly six years of drug abuse, which included the use of opiates and cocaine, Wren got clean and found himself with a decision to make regarding his fighting career.
Wren entertained a tempting offer to compete for Dream, but before accepting the potentially lucrative deal from the former Japanese-based promotion, the Texas native decided to ask God for guidance. Wren’s plea to God didn’t lead him to Japan to continue his fighting career. Instead, it convinced him to travel to the Congo to offer help to the over 500,000 Pygmies who live there in extreme poverty.
During the second of several trips to the Congo, Wren used the assistance of Shalom University to formulate strategies to aid the Pygmies in acquiring land, finding drinkable water and creating their own food.
Wren stayed in the Congo for over a year during his third trip there. In that time, the former Greco-Roman wrestling national champ assisted in buying nearly 2,500 acres of land. He also lent a hand in digging 13 wells.
For his inspirational efforts in the Congo, Wren earned an affectionate name from the Pygmies, Efeosa Mbuti MangBo. Efeosa translates to “the man who loves us,” and Mbuti MangBo translates to “the big Pygmy.”
Without a doubt, I’m a better man for this. I’ve seen up close what is important in life. Before, living the life of my dreams I’d had as a 13-year-old, being a UFC fighter, is what was important to me. That didn’t fulfill me and I spiraled downward and crashed and burned. Having these experiences, I see more clearly how precious life is, how precious every human life is.
There are bigger things to life than having my name known as a fighter. I feel like the addictions, the depression, all that stuff, I’m not naïve enough to say I’m above it. But I will say I have greater things to live for and to focus and pursue. I’m not doing this to help myself, but I see as I help others, it comes back to help me. So I feel like I’m a much better man now than I was when I went there for the first time.
Wren submitted UFC veteran Wes Sims with a first-round arm-triangle choke in the opening round of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights (Season 10). He then dropped a controversial majority decision to eventual season winner Roy Nelson in the quarterfinals before falling via split decision to Jon Madsen at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. Wren notched three straight wins after falling to Madsen, each of which occurred outside of the UFC in 2010.
Wren attended Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, where he was coached by former Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalists Kendall Cross and Kenny Monday. Wren won back-to-back prep state championships in 2004 and 2005 at Bishop Lynch.
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