Judo Champ and MMA Fighter Dr. Rhadi Ferguson is On the Move


My name is…. Rhadi Bullard Ferguson.

The reason you’re reading about me is…Well the reason you’re reading about me is because I’m a graduate of Howard University two times. Once in 1997 with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering and again in 2002 with a Masters of Arts of Teaching; and because I went to Howard University and have some accomplishments in terms of going to the Olympics in 2004, in being a world class strength and conditioning coach, placing 2nd in the Brazilian Jujitsu World Championships and currently still in the mixed in the world of Mixed Martial Arts having started my pro career in 2010.



Right now I’m working on….Well right now I’m working on a couple of projects in order to enhance the health and wellness of African Americans. I already enhance the health and wellness of many individuals but right now I’m really targeting a campaign to enhance the lives of African Americans and persons of color. And the reason being is because there statistically the health care issues in this demographic is just disproportionate. I mean in terms of heart disease, in terms of cancer, in terms of lung disease and other health issues, the scales are just lopsided and I think, well, I know some of these things can be lessened and problems alleviated if we as a people are better informed about the effects of obesity, the benefits of proper nutrition, exercise and the little things that can actually add years to our lives. Basically there are some things that we can do which is called preventive medicine or what some call preventive care. My wife, Traci Ferguson is a medical doctor. She went to Georgetown University but she spent most of her time at Howard when she was an undergraduate student.(laughing) She went to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She graduated from Georgetown, Phi Beta Kappa. She’s super intelligent and we’ve done some projects together. And right now we’re really focused on helping the African American community and persons of color. I think it’s just very important to lift as you climb.



But if I wasn’t doing that I’d be… I’d be on the mat working out, either doing wrestling, jujitsu or judo, or in the weight room.

One thing I do every day is… Man, one thing I do every day is pray. I have no problem saying that I’m Christian, that I believe in God and that that means that I’m not perfect, but striving to be. And I really try to be better today than I was yesterday with the understanding that I’m not as good as I will be tomorrow. So, I definitely make sure that I get that in. And most of the time its to ask for forgiveness for the things which I “fell short” on that day. And another thing I do every day when I’m in town is, I kiss my wife and play with my children. I travel some, so I can’t do that when I’m out of town but when I’m in town, I am sure to get that in.. And another thing I do every day is religiously work out. Those are the things that I do every day.

I can’t stand when people… I’ll tell you what I’m pretty tolerant. I can pretty much stand when people do anything, to be honest with you. And let me tell you that this is new for me. I wasn’t like this 2 years ago. The great thing about sports is that it humbles you every day and allows you to get rid of your anger and “piss and vinegar.” With that being said, I think everybody has a reason for doing what it is that they do and even though I don’t agree with why they do with what they do, I can stand it. Now, I might not stand for it and I may not stand around it, but I can stand them for a little while. I think that just comes from being older and being mature and you kind of realize that you’re not perfect and no one else is either. A lot of people put up with your mess. Sometimes you’ve got to put up with other people’s mess. So I can pretty much stand anything but I’m not going to stand for anything.

But I love it when people…I love it when people love me back. How about that! Like the song says, “it feels good loving somebody when somebody loves you back, and that’s a fact.” So I love it when people love me back



If you happen to run into me in the street… Well if you happen to run into me in the street that means you weren’t looking where you were going. (laughing) No I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding. If you happen to run into me in the street, man please say “hello”. I cannot understand when I travel to New York why this happens. You look at people in the street they don’t say “hello”. They look at you and then they get upset because you’re looking at them. And you’re not sure why they’re upset, so you’re looking at them trying to figure out why they’re upset and then they go on with the whole “I have an attitude dance”, you know, the shrugging their shoulders and cocking their head to the side, etc., and you’re wondering why what in the world is going on and wondering…..what happened to “hello”? So, If you happen to run into me in the street just say “hello”. Please.

The best piece of advice I ever received was… “Do that duty which is best. Leave unto the Lord the rest.”

If I had to coin it, my message would be… If I had to coin it, my message would be “All Power”. That’d be my message. I say it all the time. A lot of people don’t understand what I mean when I say “All Power” but that’s my message “All Power”.

My future plans and projects include…..
My future plans and projects include working along with Be Moore, Doing what we can do to help out African Americans and people of color and people on the Alumni roundup to do better, be better, to get better, to live healthier lives, and to, and quite frankly, to improve not only their personal lives but the lives of their offspring. I think that is super important. I think a lot of times we’re so concerned about passing down money to our kids, but the key is not to pass down money, the key is to pass down wealth. And sometimes that wealth is monetary and sometimes that wealth is informational wealth or informative wealth. And I think that that’s the key, to pass down wealth.

Big Ups to… Well first and foremost I’d live to give a big up to the Alumni Roundup, The Howard University community, my mentor Winston Williams, who graduated from Howard University, another one of my mentors Lloyd Irvin who graduated from Bowie State University. To my booking agent, also a Howard University grad, Inga Nandi Willis. I’d also like to give a big up to the Ques, my frat brothers, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.). I’d also like to give a big up to the alumni round up. I appreciate everybody who has gone to HBCUs, who continues to support HBCUs, who continues to send their children to HBCUs. Every night that I am at home, I travel every once in a while, but every time I’m at home, my son is 4 and a half years old and I sing the Howard University Alma Matter to him at night before he goes to bed. He gets a little bit of “reared against the eastern sky, proudly there on hilltop high” every night. I just think it’s important. And yes, for those that are reading this, we sing that after we say our prayers. LOL) That’s who I’d like to give my big ups to and that’s about it.

# # #

Be Moore: Right now I want to introduce you to someone that I know on a personal level; I fondly refer to this brother as just about the closest thing to the X-Men character Hank “Beast” McCoy and I’ll tell you why.

When he was at Howard University he was a three sport athlete. He played football, he wrestled and he ran track. Rhadi went on to the Olympics in 2004. He’s a four time national judo champion and he retired from the sport of judo in 2005. At that time he decided to pursue his Ph.D. in education and now is a doctor. And he has recently decided to rehash his martial arts career. And he is now cage fighting. That’s right! A man with a Ph.D. in education is fighting in the cage! I would like to introduce you all to Dr. Rhadi Ferguson.


How are you doing today DOCTOR Ferguson?

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson: Well I’m doing excellent. Bryndan I appreciate you having me on as a highlighted guest and member of the Alumni Roundup. It’s always a pleasure to speak with my people, my HBCU folks. I’m getting ready and gearing up for Howard University homecoming. I’m trying to lick my wounds, so to speak, from my last fight. I’m still a little banged up and beat up. I’m a little older than I was before when I was competing, but I haven’t lost the fervor and the drive to prepare in order to be the best.

Be Moore: Rhadi, what do you do when you are not fighting?



Dr. Rhadi Ferguson: Well to be honest with you, my primary responsibility is to be a good father to my children, and a good husband to my wife. After that I’m a strength and conditioning coach. I’m also a health and wellness coach. I do motivational speaking. And I train people in mixed martial arts as well as the sports of judo and Brazilian jujitsu. You can say that I’m a jack of all trades. I don’t believe that anyone masters any trade so you can say I’m a Jack of all Trades and a master of none, if you’d like. But at the base of my business, I’m an internet marketer. I do internet marketing. And I do help many people in terms of their business and what they do, in internet marketing. And I would like to say out front and in the open, I’m very pleased and impressed with what you’ve done with the alumni round up in terms of making sure that people from HBCUs all over the country and people who live all over the world have an opportunity to communicate with one another as well as have a little bit of nostalgia in their day. It doesn’t matter if you went to Howard and you’re talking about the times that you spent in the valley or if you went to Morehouse and you talk about the “meat rack” or if you went to FAMU talk about “the set.” It really doesn’t matter. Everyone on the roundup has the opportunity to break away from the everyday mundane and kind of get back to “the yard”…. at least virtually. The roundup exists for the same reason that we all scrounge up our money and try to make it back to Homecoming. So that we can get a little taste of what it was like to be around our people; And to have that type of feeling during the day. And it’s good that you provide that on a virtual level and I’m very appreciative and I’m sure a lot of people across the globe are appreciative as well.

Be Moore: Good talking with you Ferg. Keep up the good work.

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson: I appreciate it.


One response to “Judo Champ and MMA Fighter Dr. Rhadi Ferguson is On the Move”

  1. Hey Rhadi

    Congradulations on your achievements. I remembered you on the football field when I played soccer for Howard back in the day but i didn’t realize that you had so much talent in the class and on the field. Keep up the great works my friend and may the Lord continue to bless you and your family and guide your every move in the future.

    Sincerely

    Musceo Hunt

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.