Tywan Claxton (6-1) has two passions in life – fighting and software development. During Bellator 242 fight week, he gets to showcase both.
A couple of days before taking on undefeated prospect Jay Jay Wilson (5-0) inside the cage, his new website AirClaxton.com went live. He plans on using this platform to provide free resources to the less fortunate and inspire them to take up coding.
“In the next two months, I’m going to have my beginner’s coding series for kids that don’t have access to everything, to teaching and to different resources. I’m just coming out with my own line of coding series and blog tutorial videos and it’s really great, ” Claxton said at the Bellator 242 virtual media day.
Claxton did not get the opportunity to study software development in college. Due to his wrestling obligations, he was not able to switch majors. After graduating with a degree in healthcare with a focus in marketing, he taught himself to code by reading online material. His new blog aims to give its subscribers a more accessible route to software development.
“I’m happy to be able to provide those resources and give back to kids who kind of grew up like I grew up – with shit. And just kind of find a way to make something out of nothing.”
The blog’s first post stated its intentions clearly. Claxton believes it can have a real impact on people’s lives.
“The goal of both blogs is to give those individuals who are starting this race of life a few steps behind a fair shake at competing with their more fortunate peers. This led me to put together a team of knowledgeable and generous individuals who understand that access to the right information for FREE could potentially change the lives of millions of individuals. I am glad to provide resources via these blogs and hope that our team at Flight1125 can help touch and shape the lives of those genuinely interested in progress.”
All seven of Claxton’s professional MMA bouts have come inside the Bellator cage. So far, so good for Claxton working under Scott Coker.
“I like it because, at the end of the day, I can do as much coding as I want to do and still be one of the top fighters in the organisation. That’s something I love.”
Bellator has been good to Claxton within the sport too. In his pro debut at Bellator 186, his brand was born. His acrobatic flying knee KO of Jonny Bonilla-Bowman earned him the moniker ‘Air’.
Even in defeat, which he suffered only once two fights ago to former Bellator featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez, he is grateful for how his career has progressed.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s always been my motto. They’ve been treating me well. Since I’ve been in the promotion, I’ve gotten fair fights, I’ve been pushed with the right fight and I’ve also been getting fights that are supposed to help me grow – like the Sanchez fight and fights of that nature.”
“So I plan on sticking around for years to come. As long as I put those gloves on and step into that cage, I plan on having the Bellator ‘B’ on them.”
While software development and prizefighting seem worlds apart, they are two complementary halves of the same life. That big ol’ brain that saw him grab the attention of Google, can also be utilised in the context of a fist-fight.
“At this point, (my greates attirbute) would probably be athleticism but, my IQ’s a close second. I have a pretty big IQ already outside of the cage and it’s starting to translate over inside. As I get more experience, my IQ is what’s going to set me apart from the rest of these guys.”
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