How Ocoee's Zion Grant went from not graduating to college-bound wrestler

Since Zion Grant was a kid, he’s been a fighter — beginning his education of the fight game at 7 years old with the sweet science of boxing before graduating to the school of mixed martial arts at 14. It was during his MMA education Grant realized what he wanted to do with his life: Become a professional mixed martial arts fighter.

However, to achieve that goal, his professor of punch and a master of mixed martial arts himself, Julien Williams — owner and head MMA coach of Ocoee-based gym Fusion X-Cel and a professional MMA fighter — suggested Grant procure himself a history tutor of sorts to educate the “Young Lion” in the ancient craft of wrestling. 

Enter Pernell Croskey. 

After meeting with Croskey, on the recommendation of former pupils of the professor of pins, Grant knew he had found his guru of Grecco-Roman, his master of the mat, educator of escapes and teacher of takedowns. But there was just one problem: Grant’s pursuit of education of the fight game was put in jeopardy by his lackluster pursuit of his academics.

Croskey also is the dean of discipline and head wrestling coach at Ocoee High School. And Grant, who was entering his junior year, was not a student at Ocoee. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he attended school online and was enrolled at Florida Virtual School. However, according to Croskey, Grant’s situation required him to transfer to Orange County Virtual School to be able to join the Knights program while continuing his education as an online student.

“It was an interesting situation when we tried to bring Zion into the program,” Croskey said. “The way the virtual school world is set up when it comes to sports. … Because he had his classes on Florida Virtual, he was not allowed to wrestle at Ocoee. … He needed to transfer to Orange County Virtual. … So I reached out to the principal of Orange County Virtual … and said, ‘Hey, I need you to look at transferring this kid over from Florida Virtual … so we can get him onto the team.’ So she pulled up his information and tells me he might not be a good fit because of how far behind in his coursework he was. He had a good GPA at the time, but he was so behind that we didn’t know if he would graduate at all — let alone graduate on time.”

Grant’s singular focus on an education in mixed martial arts meant his classwork was put on the back burner, but after learning this approach was an obstacle in pursuing his goal of becoming a pro MMA fighter, he took on the challenge with full force.

“I know the type of person I am, and once I set my mind on achieving a goal, I make sure I achieve it,” Grant said. “That’s just who I am: I’m going to put in the extra work. I knew I was going to put in overtime work to make sure I got the classes done.”

Croskey believed in him and went to bat for him.

“I told the principal, ‘Listen, I’ve met the kid, know a bit about his story, and he’s a really good kid. I think if we just have a conversation with him and lay this out, he could turn this around,’” Croskey said. “She asked me if I thought it was worth a shot, and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ So we talked to him and told him that he needed to buckle down on the coursework.”

SETBACK
Croskey was right about Grant — not only to fight to give him a chance but also that wrestling would be something he’d love so much he would prioritize his schoolwork. Grant quickly fell in love with the sport and showed a heap of promise in the early portion of his junior season, but just as fast as the love for the mat came for Grant so did a season-ending injury. 

“It started off great,” Croskey said. “Zion joined the team, he was doing his classwork. But then, unfortunately, not even halfway into the season … he blew out his knee at a Christmas tournament. It was pretty tragic, and he was down for the rest of the season.”

Knowing Grant joined the team as a way of developing his wrestling skills, the injury cast doubt on if he would return next season or even ever walk through the doors of Ocoee High again. Grant, however, took time to reflect on his short time as a Knights wrestler and, life in general, and came to a path-altering realization.

“I remember just sitting back and realizing that the way I was going about things was wrong and I needed to basically refocus my life in a lot of ways,” he said. “I feel like that injury was God’s way of sitting me down and helping me gain back my focus. Once I realized what I wanted in life and what wrestling really meant to me and how much my team and everybody around me means to me, I decided to take it seriously and not just as something to help me develop as a fighter. 

“I made sure to not only do all my rehab work but put in extra training over the summer — I literally trained morning, afternoon and night, just to get back in wrestling shape,” he said. “When I started wrestling again I wanted to make sure the team got the best version of me. Despite the fact that we’re going out there on the mat by ourselves, this is a team sport at the end of the day, and I realized that the people around me in wrestling and MMA are my team and I need that support, so I locked in and made sure I did what I needed to do to get back.”

Having the singular focus Grant did when he joined the Knights wrestling program made him somewhat blind to the point that he felt alone in his pursuit, but when the ability to continue his pursuit was ripped away, he saw the community of people around him was what really mattered.

“He stuck around the room after the injury,” Croskey said. “He showed up to practice almost every day, even though he couldn’t do much. He did all of his rehab, and once he bounced back, he just started working. He came back for his senior season with a new energy, and when I followed up with his guidance counselor and his principal, he was making up the school work, too. He was still a little bit behind, I think they were projecting him to graduate in December of 2025, which compared to where he was when we first met, was amazing.”

THE LONG GAME
That new energy Grant entered his senior year with propelled him to succeed on the wrestling mat, finishing his first and only full wrestling season with a 27-10 record and an individual West Metro Conference and District championship.

It was clear he was developing his wrestling skills and becoming a more well-rounded mixed martial artist. College wrestling programs began to take notice. For Grant, the idea of continuing his wrestling education at the college level was the perfect way to make up for lost time.

“I only started wrestling two years ago,” he said. “There’s guys who’ve been wrestling since elementary school, so I feel like I have a lot to make up for, and I feel like college is the best bet for me to continue my wrestling career. When I got injured, it made me realize how much love I have for the sport. Because it got taken away from me momentarily … it was really difficult and made me kind of depressed for a little while. But I used that feeling as fuel to help me get back and get better. So when the opportunity of wrestling in college became a real option for me, it was the perfect way to make up for lost time. I fell in love with the sport, and I just want to keep doing it.”

In the same way Croskey saw an opportunity to help Grant prioritize his school work in high school because of wrestling, when Grant told his coach about his desire to wrestle in college, Croskey once again saw an opportunity to preach the importance of education.

“At some point during the season, Zion came to me and said, ‘Hey, Coach, what if I wanted to go to college?’” Croskey said. “I just paused, and I was kind of shocked to be honest, because he hadn’t really ever mentioned it before. … when he asked me what I thought, I told him I thought it was amazing. I said to him, ‘Here’s the deal, though: I truly believe you can do well for yourself in this sport. You could be one of those few to actually make it, but let’s think realistically for a minute. If you hit all of your most outlandish goals, you become a UFC champion, how long does that career last? If you go beyond most, you retire in your 30s, possibly 40s. What’s the average lifespan? At least 80 years, probably more. That means you still have another 40 years of life to live. What else are you going to do?’”

Croskey was right. 

“He gave me some advice that opened up my eyes,” Grant said. “He showed me a whole different perspective, because I was thinking strictly wrestling. I wasn’t thinking about anything beyond that, kind of like what I was doing in high school. … After that conversation and just remembering my experience with my injury, I realized wrestling is temporary, and at any moment, it can be taken away from me. Then what do I do? He helped me realize I need to prepare myself for life after wrestling.”

Grant received more than a dozen collegiate wrestling offers and has chosen to continue his athletic and academic journey at Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio. With just three courses left to complete, he’s set to graduate high school at the end of June. Along with his academic and wrestling success, Grant also made his amateur MMA debut, and with the support of the Knights wrestling team present, he won by TKO in the first round. 

“I look up to those men, they are father figures to me, so it meant a lot to me to have them there,” Grant said. “It meant a lot to be able to show them that everything they taught me, I’m applying to my life, inside and outside of fighting. I’m really thankful for them and know that they have played a big role in my life.”