By David Mayeda, PhD, FightTicker.com Social Issues Contributor

If you haven’t heard of Justin McCully, there’s a good chance you will have after July 5th. This coming Saturday night, McCully will lock horns with Gabriel Gonzaga as part of the UFC 86 preliminary card in Las Vegas, NV. McCully made his UFC debut a little over a year ago at UFC Fight Night 9, where he won a unanimous decision over Antoni Hardonk. Since then, McCully has been sidelined from competition, working through injuries. It’s been a long road for McCully, also known as “The Insane One.”

At age 32, he’s been training MMA for thirteen years and fighting professionally for eleven. During this time, he’s trained extensively with Tito Ortiz as part of Team Punishment, amassed a 7-2-2 record, and now trains at LA Boxing and Allan Goes BJJ. McCully is sharp, articulate, and has some strong opinions on where MMA needs to go in the future, some of which were expressed when he was a guest panelist on a recent episode of Inside MMA (see video, end of story).

Like most mixed martial artists, McCully’s athletic background began in his childhood. Growing up in Southern California, McCully tried a variety of sports. “As a child I played soccer, baseball, football, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, & surfing. I played football and track and field –- shot put and discus –- in high school and junior college, as well as taking Martial Arts in between seasons.”

However, after his athletic career stymied at the JUCO level, McCully decided to begin training more seriously in hopes of beginning a professional MMA career. Additionally, his professional MMA aspirations were sparked largely by his brother’s movement into MMA. “I started taking jiu-jitsu. My friend Pat Tenore took me to my first class. But it was only after my brother had been scouted and chosen to fight in the World Combat Championships that I learned of MMA. I got some great coaching by Carlson Gracie disciple Allan Goes, won some amateur titles, and then went pro.”

Since going pro, McCully has become the father of two children, one who is seven years old and a second, just six weeks old. After asking McCully if he had a second job to augment his income from fighting professionally, he responded, “I’m a father, but nope, MMA is it for me ... It’s what I was born for. I’ve never felt more alive than after a competition.” Despite the mainstream perception that MMA fighters bring in lucrative purses, savvy fans know that most MMA fighters struggle to get by financially.

Shedding further light on this issue, McCully stated, “As some of you may know the paychecks aren’t as big for the fighters as the management, so I struggle a lot. Insurance I pay for out of my own pocket ... With risk of getting myself in trouble, I'll give you an insight. Last year MMA was a billion dollar business. The top guys in our sport are barely cracking a million and the rest of us are starving.”

Given these realities, if he could change the MMA industry, McCully suggests that along with a fighters’ union needing to be developed, increased purses are necessary. “There needs to be a union to make sure the wages are comparative to the earnings. Perhaps retirement plans and insurance would be a start. Minimum wage for risking your life of say $25,000. The starting contracts aren’t even 10% of that. It’s kind of insulting since we're the ones the fans are coming to see.”

Still, McCully understands the current circumstances ensconcing the MMA game, and knows that when fighters are under-compensated, it’s “the nature of the business.” McCully admits, “Each and every organization does this, and they should. It’s the way they make their money. It’s the nature of the business. That’s how we become big names. We just need an even cut.”

And McCully knows his participation in MMA is a risk. With regard to the sport’s safety, McCully states that part of MMA’s exploding popularity is that risk: “I don’t think it is safe, but that's what makes it a thrill. Danger is the attraction! As far as comparing deaths to other sports we are very young as a licensed sport. So only time will tell how we compare, but NASCAR racing and many other sports are more deadly.”

Despite these relative risks, McCully is ready to take that next step in his MMA career. He’s patiently waited a long time since his last match and hopes a win over Gabriel Gonzaga will propel him closer to his ultimate goal: “To be heavyweight champion. After that, we'll see where life takes me.”

David Mayeda, PhD, is author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society, the first book that examines MMA from a political standpoint, based on interviews with 40 MMA athletes, including "Rampage" Jackson, Randy Couture, Antonio McKee, Dan Henderson, Chris Leben, Guy Mezger, Travis Lutter, Frank Trigg, Toby "Tiger Heart" Grear, and with the Forward written by Jason "MayheM" Miller.

(Photo of Justin McCully courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)