Dhafir Harris, aka Dada 5000, is back in the MMA ring this Saturday night. The Perrine Spartan is the second headline match for the Mixed Fighting Alliance's event at the U.S. Century Bank Arena located in the south campus of Florida International University. For the past two weeks, Harris has been busy promoting the MFA on local radio and television shows, even going one-on-one in a steel cage with Raul de Molina, host of Univision's El Gordo Y La Flaca morning show. We caught up with Harris earlier today about his upcoming fight and the future of backyard fights.
New Times: What can we expect from you on Saturday night versus your opponent, Timothy Papp Jr.?
Dhafir Harris: My thing is just to come out and get rid of him as fast as I can. I need to inflict pain on him real quick so people know I am for real. He doesn't know what I got in store for him. The folks he came with are going back to Oklahoma without because he is going to be stuck at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Those are some serious fighting words.
I mean every word. I am a cerebral fighter. I prepare for
the worst of any situation. At the end of the
day my thing is to come out and fight hard.
How did you link up with the MFA?
I was introduced to the promoters during the weigh in for the G-Force event a couple months back that I didn't fight because my opponent didn't show up. We ended up having a sit down afterward and from there we started doing business.
Being that the U.S. Century Bank Arena is not that far from Perrine, do you expect people from the neighborhood to show up?
I am sad to say that some folks in Perrine don't see the opportunity I have provided guys in the neighborhood. I am surrounded by haters in Perrine. But I am using that to my betterment. But I am getting mad love from all over Miami-Dade County.
What was it like going against el Gordo Raul de Molina?
That was part of the promotion. It was good for everybody. El Gordo Y La Flaca gets massive ratings. It has done a lot for me. I also went on channel 41
shortly after that. I have things lined up with a few Spanish networks. I am also looking to do
something with Gatorade. I am now in a position that major corporations want to deal with me.
How does it feel to be in that position?
I am not surprised. I always felt destined to do great things.
What is the future of your backyard fight events?
I am going to make the transition from the backyard to doing amatuer MMA events. I got one more backyard fight in me. It will be the last one I do and it will be crazy.
Do you think all the media coverage has brought unwanted attention to the backyard by government officials and law enforcement authorities?
Not really. But in the future it is going to happen. I know the politicians are working on a way to shut down the backyard fights. I am going to gracefully bow out before that goes down. Someone else will have to catch the flack that I largely avoided. Besides I have nothing left to prove. I look back and I can't believe how much we accomplished from being on the cover of New Times and the Miami Herald to being involved in Level's Telemundo project and the Rakontur project to getting featured in ESPN magazine.
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