Second-generation champ? CCHS grad's son is moving up in MMA

Paul Fletcher arrived in Morgan City with his Coast Guard family, played football and won a state track championship for Central Catholic and years later won a world powerlifting title.
Now the next generation is making a move. Fletcher’s son A.J. is an up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighter who generated some social media buzz with his latest victory.
“He was detailed,” the older Fletcher said of his youngest son, who is now 24. “He had a plan. He knew what fight we wanted to turn pro on.”
The family’s connection with sports started years before in Panama, where Paul Fletcher grew up. His father, Don, worked in federal government jobs including the Coast Guard, and Paul grew up around what was then known as the Canal Zone.
He played baseball and soccer at the high school he attended.
International politics changed Fletcher’s path. The 1977 Panama Canal Treaty, which turned control of the Canal Zone over to the Panamanians, meant his father would be bringing his family back to the United States. One of the possible postings was Morgan City, so Don Fletcher took it.
Paul Fletcher talked his family into letting him stay for his junior year all-star game.
After coming to Morgan City, Fletcher enrolled at Central Catholic. He thinks the school he attended would be a 5A school in Louisiana. Now he found himself a running back who was bigger than his linemen.
In addition to playing football, Fletcher also won a state discus championship for the Eagles.
Fletcher graduated in 1980 and walked on at LSU after former Tiger star Jerry Stovall became the head coach with the tragic death of Bo Rein in a plane crash.
“I had positive stats,” Fletcher said, “but I wasn’t a big guy.”
He transferred to McNeese State, where he participated in power lifting. A coach gave him a choice — pick the gridiron or the weight bench. He picked power lifting.
Careers
While at LSU, Fletcher met Joel, his future wife. They have three children together: Austin, now 32; Stephen, 29; and Ashton, known as A.J., 24.
In college, Fletcher earned a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s in education administration. He has spent his career at Ascension Parish and Central schools.
But he stayed active in power lifting and, as a self-described “slow bloomer,” won three International Power Lifting National Masters titles, for competitors over 39. In 2003, he won the Masters World Championship in Brazil at age 43.
Fletcher remained connected with sports in another way — coaching, supporting and taxiing his sons in their athletic endeavors.
Somewhere along the way, along with football and baseball, mixed martial arts worked their way into the athletic agenda — not as participants, but as fans.
Mixed martial arts is a combination of boxing and several varieties of martial arts. So kicking is allowed, along with more traditional boxing techniques. And it all takes place in a ring surrounded by a cage.
Fletcher isn’t sure exactly how or when MMA worked its way into the program. But he can remember parking in the emergency lane at a restaurant so the family could watch an MMA championship match.
A.J. Fletcher went on to play football for St. Michael’s, where his father taught and coached, a 5-foot-8, 205-pounder who showed he could kick 50-yard field goals as well as play from scrimmage.
He didn’t get any offers from colleges. But, as his father did, he found a way to pursue athletics after leaving school.
A.J. Fletcher began working out at a small Baton Rouge gym and began to map out a competition strategy for MMA.
Now listing his home as Lafayette, the younger Fletcher has had the chance to work out with MMA notables such as former Ultimate Fighting Championship title-holder Daniel Cormier and former UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier.
In a recent video interview for UFC, Fletcher said he’s been influenced by Poirier’s willingness to give advice and his down-to-earth personality.
“There’s no secret sauce,” Fletcher said. “There’s no magic potion. ... I don’t have to be 7 feet tall or come from a certain place on earth.
“If he can do it, I can do it.”
In the cage
Fletcher’s first amateur bout was Sept. 3, 2016. He won by KO/TKO over Nick Breaux at 1:23 of Round 2.
It was the first of four straight amateur wins before he lost two bouts by decision in 2018. On Oct. 26 that year, two months after the second loss by decision, Fletcher got back on track with a unanimous decision over Kevin Smith.
Fletcher went 7-2 as an amateur before making his move into the pros with a May 5, 2019, bout against fellow Louisianan Dan Street. Fletcher won by punches at 3:33 of the third round, the first W in what would turn out to be nine straight.
His most recent fight attracted some attention, and not just because it was part of Dana White’s Contender Series, which streams live on ESPN+.
Fletcher opened the Aug. 31 Dana White card with a welterweight bout against Italian Leonardo Damiani, 10-2-1. Fletcher showed some wrestling moves to get Damiani to the mat. And when Damiani rose, backed against the cage, Fletcher was ready with the flying knee that knocked Damiani out in 2:24 of the first round.
While he may be remembered for that kick, Paul Fletcher said, that one-second of action resulted from years of hard work.
All this can be a little nerve-wracking for parents, even for those who have watched sons in athletic competition all their lives.
“It’s different when they lock that cage,” Paul Fletcher said. “Those pros aren’t looking for points. They’re looking for finishes.”
Along with the trepidation must come some pride in having raised a son who can set his own course in life.
“He really didn’t ask,” Paul Fletcher said. “We support our boys, all three of them, and we give them wings.”