Photo by Jerry Chavez for the Legacy Fighting Alliance: Brandon Mills, a 2020 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, is now 4-0 in his amateur career.

Brandon Mills is still in the early stages of his mixed martial arts career.

The 2020 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate is no rookie to the game, though.

Mills is making waves as newcomer on the Legacy Fighting Alliance circuit. Last Friday, he improved his amateur MMA record to 4-0 with a victory over Dylan Kiskila during the LFA 157 event at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Minnesota.

Mills, a featherweight, is still competing at 145 pounds, where he placed sixth as a wrestler for the Dodgers three years ago. The son of retired UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes made his MMA amateur debut in June of 2021, and has recorded three wins — including last week’s — by rear naked choke.

According to the regional rankings, Mills is currently the eighth-best Iowa amateur featherweight in a field of 79 fighters. He’s rated 40th out of 627 featherweights in the midwest.

The 21-year-old Mills trains with American Top Team, an MMA academy in Coconut Creek, Fla. Hughes and Justin Faiferlick, owner of Faiferlick Martial Arts in Fort Dodge, have been coaches during Mills’ rise and were in his corner last Friday.

“Short term, my goal is to sign a contract with one of the big three promotions (UFC, Bellator or PFL),” said Mills, whose mother, Brandy, lives in Fort Dodge. “I also just want to keep improving after every fight and remain undefeated.

“My long-term goal is to be a world champion and earn generational wealth for my family and friends. Making it into the Hall of Fame would be a nice touch.”

Mills knows the lay of the land and the sacrifices he must make along the way. His father was a two-time UFC welterweight champion who was widely considered to be the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world at his peak.

“It’s about the time and effort you put into anything when no one is watching. The ‘champion’s hours,'” Mills said. “I am the only person responsible for my outcome.”

Mills lists, “My dad, my teammate, Ikram Aliskerov, my daughter Saylor and Justin (Faiferlick)” as the most influential people in his professional career to date. “Both my mom and my Uncle Chris weren’t fans of this career at first, but it never stopped them from supporting me and being there every step of the way.”

Mills views his time in Fort Dodge as a period that laid the groundwork for this chapter in his life.

“Wrestling (at FDSH) gave me the most solid foundation I could ask for, and training with Justin at the age of 12 and having him give me a start offered a clear path,” Mills said.

Faiferlick has been pleased with the growth Mills continues to show.

“Brandon is progressing as a fighter at an extremely high rate,” Faiferlick said. “We take every fight and improve his fighter IQ.

“We are discussing his next move. He has dominated his amateur career with some tough challenges, but all wins.”