Call him old school, but rising lightweight Jarrod St. Jean keeps a low profile. He's not here for the internet clout or to tell you how he could beat Islam Makhachev if they fought right now – no.
St. Jean (5-0) has looked good in the early stages of his professional career. Unlike many of his fellow fighters trying to rise through the regional ranks and clamoring for attention, St. Jean is quietly making himself the best fighter he can be. He returns Friday at Combat FC 14 vs. Andrew Cruz (10-6) in Medford, Mass. The bout will stream on UFC Fight Pass.
"Being undefeated is a bit overrated," St. Jean recently told MMA Junkie. "It looks great, but at the end of the day, I feel like MMA fans, all they want to do is see you lose, and it's a weird
thing – a weird dynamic where they literally just see the undefeated record, and they want to see it get blemished. That's what kind of brings a little bit of level of excitement to it, and I feel it just brings nothing but haters.
"It's super weird the way that people were treating Ilia (Topuria), for example. They treat him like sh*t just because he had one loss at the highest level. My goal basically is to put on great entertaining fights at the highest level on the biggest stage, win, lose or draw. I want to be worth it for people to spend their money on me and to watch me fight, and that's kinda my goal: to be an entertainer."
St. Jean began training MMA at age 10 after an incident on a school bus with a bully who got violent. He trained off and on but turned it up a notch during his college years. A nutritional science student at the University of New Hampshire, St. Jean began training down the road under former UFC fighter Devin Powell at Nostos MMA. Having an experienced brain to pick leveled him up.
"I was just like coming home with like black eyes and bruised, you know, whatever, bruised all over," St. Jean laughed.
Picture perfect punch from Jarrod St. Jean #CFFC159 pic.twitter.com/jWOGm955bh
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 15, 2026
St. Jean, 24, turned professional in early 2025 after a 6-2 amateur career that included titles for Combat FC and NEF. He ripped through three amateur opponents before he was faced with a common illness that has more severe repercussions for fighters specifically.
"I got sick with mono last year," St. Jean said. "It was like August, I think, when it first hit me, and then I was out for obviously a month, and then the long-lasting effect of it was my spleen was enlarged. So if you get hit there, it can explode or whatever, and you have a lot of internal bleeding – and die.
Luckily for St. Jean, the inflammation decreased, and he was cleared to return. He added back-to-back first round knockouts for Combat FC and CFFC en route to Friday's matchup.
It hasn't been easy to find him fights, but promoter Joe Cavallaro and matchmaker Rick Caldwell finally found Cruz, who agreed to sign on the dotted line. St. Jean thinks it's the perfect next level as he takes his calculated and patient approach toward the UFC.
"Just follow my journey as I continue to shine, as I put in the hard work," St. Jean said. "I just want to, in a weird way, inspire people. Good things come with time. As hard as it may seem now, there's always gonna be a light at the end of the tunnel, and you'll get your chance that one day."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Prospect watch: Jarrod St. Jean prioritizing patience for UFC's future benefit
