How a gasoline-drinking accident led Alex White to a promising MMA career

Alex White was just a young boy when a mistake changed his life forever – and set him on a path toward what would become arguably a life-saving career.

“We were going to Disney World for a vacation, and we had some car problems, so my dad pulled over,” White told MMAjunkie. “We were playing tag, and I got thirsty. We had a jug that we kept lemonade in, but someone had drank it all, and my dad had put some gas in it.

“I didn’t know. I took a big drink, and I just passed out.”

At one point, the doctors didn’t expect him to survive through the night. But he was apparently stronger than some thought, something he has continued to prove to opponents.

Undefeated as an amateur and professional MMA fighter, White takes on Adam Rider (3-2) on Saturday as the main event at “Rumble at the Chase,” a Rumble Time Promotions show in St. Louis. The 8-0 featherweight not only will try to improve his spotless record, but he hopes to continue a career that has roots in bullying he experienced because of a speech impediment caused by the gasoline drinking incident.

Not only that, but White and his brother were picked on for the not-so-trendy look of the clothes from their working-class home in rural Missouri. He vowed to one day be able to stick up for himself and his brother.

That’s why he became interested when a gym opened next to the McDonald’s where he worked in Farmington, Mo., about five years ago. White was on the verge of oblivion, living in a camper because he didn’t want to follow his family on a move out of town and working the fast-food job.

Then he entered the gym, a place where coaches quickly learned he had significant striking ability and could take some punishment. As far as he’s concerned, it’s nothing compared with what he has been through already.

“Before I started doing this, there was really nothing to do in a small town but party,” he said. “I got tired of partying and all that. I wanted to try something new and see how far I could push myself.”

Accident and aftermath

White was born and raised in a small town near Farmington. The family didn’t have much money, which led at times to him and his brother being picked on at school, he said.

But that was only one of the reasons he was targeted by bullies. He also experienced the lasting effects of his childhood accident with gasoline.

“They took me to the hospital, and they told me I died on the way there before they revived me,” he said. “The doctors told my parents if I survived that I would probably be handicapped.

“The next morning, I was in a bubble, and I was pretty much back to normal. But it messed up my voice box, and I got made fun of for that.”

That made White hesitant in social situations, and he built a shell around himself with other people. Indirectly, the accident set him up for what would be his future career, because it instilled a passion in him to fight back against bullies.

He just didn’t know how to do it at the time.

“That’s one of the reasons I never hold myself as better than anybody else, because of how I was treated,” he said. “It made me work really hard at what I do.”

Big-time striker

Joe Worden, who is from a small town near where White grew up, opened a fitness and workout center in Farmington in 2008. It was next to a McDonald’s, and at the time the 18-year-old White was working there.

It wasn’t long before White was walking in Worden’s door.

“He was walking home from work, and he stopped by and said, ‘I wanna try this’” Worden said. “I put him with one of my guys who was a beginner too, and it was clear he was way too good for that. He excelled.”

Soon afterward, White’s family to move to a different part of the state. He wanted to stay where he was, so a neighbor allowed him to stay in a small (10-foot by 10-foot) camper, which was tight quarters.

It wasn’t an extravagant live. But White had found something he loved doing. His confidence in talking with others despite his speech impediment grew.

“I think that MMA pretty much saved his life, because he was on kind of a bad road, and he wasn’t talking to anybody,” Worden said. “Now he’s blossomed.”

It started with boxing, as Worden got him involved in a few fights and it was quickly apparent that White had natural striking ability. He became an MMA professional in 2010 after an undefeated amateur career and continued winning, building an undefeated record.

He has also built a family, with a wife of two years and a 16-month-old child. He has balanced his training to continue growing, and he hopes he will soon take a major step.

“I’m hoping this is my last local one,” he said. “I’m trying to train hard for when I get my chance because I hope it’s coming soon.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens “Fight Path” each week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.