James Vake
"King James"
No single dominant trait — adapts game plan to opponent.
Fight Plan: James Vake
A coach-ready game plan — historical weaknesses opponents have exploited and what to drill in camp.
- Susceptibility to early explosive power as seen in PFL debut
- Statistically low defensive strike percentage under heavy pressure
- History of losing via KO/TKO suggests potential durability issues against high-level punchers
- High-pace pressure in rounds 2–3 to drain output
- Set traps for the overhand — chin has been tested
- Stack southpaw sparring partners in camp
Fighter fingerprint
Six-axis profile — the shape tells you the style at a glance.
Aggression and Finishing are the standout edges; opponents should expect their game plan to lean on these.
- Aggression72
- Cardio68
- Wrestling60
- Fight IQ64
- Distance Control66
- Finishing71
Prep for camp: James Vake
Recommendations a coach can act on tomorrow — opponent tendencies, drills, and the sparring styles to stack against this fight.
- Trains out of City Kickboxing, favoring technical feints and range management typical of the camp
- Looks to establish leg kicks early to compromise opponent mobility
- Aggressive striker in the opening minutes, seeking to force mistakes through volume
- Force a high-pace round 1 — break the gas tank early
- Set the overhand trap — chin has cracked under clean shots
- Southpaw pressure striker
- Switch-stance technician to simulate game-plan changes
See it on film
Every read above should be verifiable. Jump straight to the footage on the platforms that host it legally — official channels first, archive sites second.
Entries, cage control, scrambles, submissions
Last 3 performances, full rounds and post-fight breakdowns
Coaches: official clip embeds per fighter are coming next — for now, deep links open searches pre-filtered to James Vake.
How James has changed
Trend lines across the last three years of tape.
Synthesized from recent fight tape · refresh to recompute
Stylistic neighbors
Closest matches across attributes, finish profile, and discipline — useful for sparring partner selection.
Status / Injuries
No public injuries reported following recent PFL appearance
Checked 6/21/2026
Recent Form
- L2026-04-11vs Omar El DafrawyKO (Punches) · R1 · PFL Chicago: Pettis vs. McKee
Availability
Currently part of the PFL roster representing New Zealand/Tonga
Attribute Profile
Scouting Summary
James Vake is a City Kickboxing product who utilizes a technical striking approach to dismantle opponents at the regional level. While possessing significant finishing power, his step up to international competition in the PFL exposed defensive vulnerabilities against elite-level aggression.
Primary source ↗Tendencies
- Trains out of City Kickboxing, favoring technical feints and range management typical of the camp
- Looks to establish leg kicks early to compromise opponent mobility
- Aggressive striker in the opening minutes, seeking to force mistakes through volume
Signature Moves
- Outside low kick
- Lead hand feints
- Pressure boxing combinations
Weaknesses
- Susceptibility to early explosive power as seen in PFL debut
- Statistically low defensive strike percentage under heavy pressure
- History of losing via KO/TKO suggests potential durability issues against high-level punchers