Fight Club

Standing across the ring from Jon Taylor, a fighter who had every intent to beat him, Sarasota’s Andreas Danapas couldn’t help but smile.

Unfortunately for Taylor, Danapas set a Florida record at the Aug. 9 fight for the quickest knockout in state history  — four seconds.
“I was so ready for that fight,” Danapas said. “Nothing against (Taylor), but he had it coming. He didn’t face off with me (during weigh-ins) and showed a lot of disrespect. We didn’t speak before the fight. I thought, ‘We’ll see how tough you really are.’”
That was Danapas’ first sanctioned fight as an amateur, and, since then, the 24-year-old has won three more fights via knockout to achieve a perfect 4-0 record.

Outside of the ring, Danapas has a support system in Kevin Jakub and Robert Herrera.

Several years ago, Danapas and Jakub crossed paths while Danapas and his father traveled from their hometown of Tarpon Springs to build a beach walkway in Sarasota.

After exchanging emails for about 18 months, Danapas moved to Sarasota to begin training with Jakub full-time.

Last summer, the two met Herrera while helping the Sarasota Military Academy wrestling team during its summer program.
The current SMA coach, Ron Jones, coached at Sarasota for several decades and coached Herrera toward the end of his tenure at the school.

Herrera, who holds a “King of the Cage” world championship belt, began training with Jakub and Danapas shortly after.

Jakub, a world-renowned wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, has won more than 300 professional fights.

Herrera, 23, wrestled at Sarasota High, earning podium finishes three times at the state tournament — runner-up once and third place twice.

Both Danapas and Herrera are on the verge of becoming professional MMA fighters, and Jakub is overseeing their efforts.

Jakub is more than a trainer or a coach. He offers knowledge in the industry that is invaluable to the two fighters.

Jakub has done it all, from wrestling internationally to bare-knuckle fights with no rules, to opening up gyms and becoming a certified instructor.

He not only has gold-plated championship belts and trophies to prove it, but war-battered knuckles and decades-old scars as well.

“It’s more than an honor to have him on my side,” Danapas said. “He’s a legend. To find someone who has that same dedication to competition that I do — it’s crazy how much belief he puts in me.”
 

“The weird part is that fighting found me. I believe everybody has a path. It was meant to be, and I enjoy every second of it.” — Andreas Danapas

At first, the Danapas and Herrera seem like polar opposite fighters.

Danapas is 6-foot-1 and weighs 240 pounds, while Herrera is 5-foot-6 and fights at around 140 pounds.

Danapas is comfortable on his feet as a striker, whereas Herrera is known for his wrestling and submissions.
But both have the same mindset during fights.

“I’m calm, cool and collected,” Herrera said. “I don’t talk trash. The furthest I’ll go is smiling at them. We’re going to get in the ring, so I’m going to let my hands do the talking.”

Danapas added, “I smile in all my fighting pictures. I’m a happy guy. I enjoy the idea of fighting. They sit there all mean, and I’m excited because I get to fight.”

Although Danapas and Herrera love the idea of getting into the ring, they have a laidback mentality in everyday life.

Danapas said there’s a big difference between being a fighter and being the guy who wants to beat somebody up.

“I want to be known as a fighter, not that ‘that guy will fight you,’” he said.

Herrera’s outlook is the same.

“Everybody’s different,” Herrera said. “I’m an easygoing guy. I like to joke around and have fun. Come fight day, I chill out, put my earbuds in and then get in there and do what I do.”

Danapas and Herrera will both appear in one more amateur fight before turning pro. They will travel to Fort Myers for a March 29 fight, and in the early spring both will make their professional debut in Michigan with some of the biggest fighting entities in attendance, such as Bellator and UFC.

“The weird part is that fighting found me,” Danapas said. “I believe everybody has a path. It was meant to be, and I enjoy every second of it.”

Herrera added, “Everyone’s put on this Earth to do something, and I feel like this is what I was put here to do.”