Jordan not retiring, just switching gears

  • Jordan not retiring, just switching gears
    Jordan not retiring, just switching gears
  • Dekevis Jordan is not retiring from the rodeo scene, just switching gears on how he rodeos. Courtesy photos
    Dekevis Jordan is not retiring from the rodeo scene, just switching gears on how he rodeos. Courtesy photos

In 2023, Madill resident and Professional Ultimate Freestyle Bullfighter Dekevis Jordan decided to change things up when he switched from Ultimate Freestyle Bullfighting to Bullfighting for the PBR Rodeo and fighting fires with the Madill Fire Department. Wanting to set “the record straight” Jordan said has not retired from Bullfighting, he has just changed the way he works.

While Freestyle Bullfighting is just the fighter and bull one-on-one, Jordan said the Bullfighting in the PBR is more of a protection game; the bullfighter protecting the rider from the bull.

“First, the way that it is different from a business standpoint is in Freestyle, you are in a pit with a Mexican fighting bull for a little over a minute and it is just you and him, but the chances of getting hurt is a lot more prone in there verses me going to a PBR and fighting 50 to 100 head of bull or so,” Jordan said. “Doing my job andtakingashotforacowboy if I need to or there might be a night where I don’t have to take a shot because there are three of us in the ring. At that level you are a professional.”

“It doesn’t get any higher than that in rodeo,” he continued. “It’s no different than a D1 athlete sports or a professional league sports like the NFL. When they get the call to go do all the draft and stuff. It truly is a career and I will argue that until the day I die.”

Jordan said that while he continues to fight bulls, he is also fighting something thatcouldbemoredangerous than a bull.

Jordan is now a full time member of the Madill Fire Department. He said he is no stranger to the life of a firefighter as he had been volunteering for a little over four years prior to going full time.

“I’ve been kinda around the fire service for a little over four years. I volunteered where I could. I volunteered in Bridge Creek and New Castle a little bit,” Jordan said. “I volunteered here at home before I moved, then I moved back.”

When Jordan and his fiancee, Bailey Kennedy, got engaged, he said he looked to his past volunteer work at thefiredepartmentandknew that his future was there.

“I’m 25 now, if I apply and go full time and I get my training down and get settled then I will be where I want to be,” he said. “I’m starting that now. I’m trying to go through my training and focus my mind on that because other thanthatIjustfocusmymind on rodeo.”

Jordan said that once his training is done, he will be able to go back to rodeoing, “Pressing the pause button and putting my focus on something a little more important at the moment to make sure my woman feels comfortable,” Jordan said. “Because for the past so many years my life has just been about me and my rodeo buddies. I’ve brought someone into my life so it is not like that anymore. I have to respect her decision as well if I want things to work out correctly.”

“I’ve got big plans for the future and still got a lot of space on my wall for things to hang up,” he continued.

Jordansaidheislookingto set himself up for the future.

“I really enjoy it too, being on the Madill Fire,” he said with a smile. “It is something that I never really thought of because my whole train of thought has been rodeo or in high school football. Rodeo life has taught me things and this one of those things it taught me, me being religious and whatnot and praying about it, I just feel like it was answered.”