Wren fighting brings attention to Fight for the Forgotten
Justin Wren is now intent on getting the Bellator heavyweight championship, but his goal is not personal glory, he wants to bring attention to the plight of the Mbuti people.
Patricio Freire @PatricioPitbull
Hi @TheBigPygmy,only now have I been informed about The Forgotten,otherwise I’d speak sooner.There’s an open spot on my shorts and banner for them. Your story is incredible, I want to help give them a voice too. @TheBigPygmy
Bellator heavyweight Justin Wren was a star high school wrestler with Olympic aspirations, who transitioned neatly to MMA, eventually reaching the UFC. Then Wren was injured, became addicted to pain pills, and fell into a downward spiral of recreational drug use.
Wren found his way out of addiction through faith in Jesus Christ. Then the man had a vision, of the poorest, most despised people in the second poorest country on Earth, the enslaved “forgotten people.” He followed his vision to The People’s Republic of The Congo.
He was eventually adopted into an MButi pygmy family, lived with them for a year, and enacted a plan to buy land, drill holes for clean water, and otherwise elevate their lives in a sustainable fashion.
Friday Wren fought at Bellator 141, taking a unanimous decision over Josh Burns. The fighter is now intent on getting the Bellator heavyweight championship, but his goal is not personal glory, he wants to bring attention to the plight of the Mbuti people. Towards that end, Wren has also written a book, Fight for the Forgotten,” available from Amazon.
I’m back,’ said Wren following his victory, as transcribed by Brent Brookhouse and John Morgan for MMAjunkie. I’m back, and I’m going to do it until I feel like I’m done or I accomplish what I want to accomplish. For me, I know after this fight, people might say, ‘I don’t know if he’s in Bellator title contention.’ But I want to get there. I do want to get there and chase that down. With a bigger platform, more people pay attention to what’s important.
I would say that fighting is important. It’s one of my greatest passions. But what I’m doing outside is so much more important. If I can use this platform and go for another five to seven years – in seven years I’ll be 35. If you look at the top guys in the world, they’re 35, 37, 33. So, I’ve got time. Maybe these next two years, three years, maybe I need to fine tune things and get better – develop better technique and conditioning and make a run.
I would say overall [my fight] was very positive because I got the ‘W.’ I didn’t get the ‘W’ like I wanted or perform like I wanted. But, at the same time, it’s five years and two months since my last fight. So I’m very excited to get the win. Thank you to Danny [Brener] from Bellator, the PR guy, for helping us get the word out and Bellator as an organization, and Spike. It’s been such a great reception from people. It’s awesome, man. I’m going to be able to do so much more in Congo because of this fight.
And what was it like living in the bush for a year?
It was very welcome, said Wren. Was it overwhelming? Getting used to that from being in the jungle is very different. If I ever experience culture shock, it’s here. It’s not there. But I would say that the reception was overwhelming in the best way possible – the most positive way possible. I’m just so excited to see what good comes of it. I’m going to keep fighting my heart out and getting better. After this fight, I’m going back to the drawing board and getting better.
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Wren with Aaron Tru, raw and uncut after the fight:
