UFC
All it takes is a few seconds on the phone withYves Edwards and you realize that he’s not like the other prizefighters. He says it comes from being a native of the Bahamas, but I tend to think that in another life he was a saxophonist in a jazz band – all cool, all the time, nothing ever bringing him down.
But that may just be the secret to his longevity in the fight game. Three weeks after his Friday fight with Jeremy Stephens, the 36-year-old will celebrate his 15th year as a professional fighter. That’s an amazing feat wherever you fight, but to still be doing it in the UFC, that’s rare air to be occupying; you know, Randy Couture / Dan Henderson territory.
“Even putting my name in a paragraph with those guys is an honor,” said Edwards. “I don’t think I deserve to be in the same statement with those guys, but at the same time, I think I’ve been lucky. I’ve got good genes and it probably comes from my laid-back, easy going attitude from being from the Bahamas. Nothing really bothers me. Maybe once a year I’ll get something that’s annoying, but not a lot, and because of that there’s no stress, no strain, no mental baggage that I’m carrying around that’s dragging me around and making me feel old. I still feel young inside and hopefully I can keep it going as long as possible because this is the most fun thing in the world, and I don’t want to give it up.”
Edwards is being modest. For newer fans, let’s just say that Edwards was possibly the best lightweight in the world when there wasn’t a lightweight division in the UFC. Today, his latest stint in the Octagon may have him sitting on a 3-2 record, but it’s a deceiving one, especially if you look at his most recent bout against TUF13 winner Tony Ferguson last December. Expected by many to be the gatekeeper for the young gun, Edwards instead gave him a three round war. When it was over, Ferguson got the decision, but Edwards won the crowd. It wasn’t much consolation though.
“I definitely felt that I did a lot better than 30-27,” referring to two of the judges’ scores that night. “I watched the fight again and I can see the argument both ways (for the winner), and I completely understand that 30-27 doesn’t mean somebody gets dominated. But I know that I won the second round. I don’t care what country or planet you’re from, I won that second round. And the third, I know it was close and I felt like I won and I can see the argument the other way, but I’m not one of these guys to harp on things that are out of my control. So from that fight I take the good and I go back and watch the tape and look for the bad and I try to fix those holes. It’s kind of like being a quarterback in the NFL. You gotta have a short-term memory when it comes to that kind of stuff. You try to fix it and then you make it better, but you can’t let it consume you, and the best way to get over a loss is to go out there and get a W, and that’s the game plan now.”
The defeat was Edwards’ 18th as a pro, against 41 wins and one draw. Back when he was coming up the ranks, a couple losses here and there didn’t hurt a fighter’s reputation that much simply because they were likely fighting killers night in and night out. But with so much competition for spots on the UFC roster and not enough room for everybody, a loss or two can be the difference between fighting in the Octagon and fighting on the local circuit. Edwards isn’t about to be one of those guys saying ‘Back when I was a kid’ though. He has grown with the game and he accepts life in it for what it is and adjusts accordingly.
“You never want to take a loss, because of how a loss can affect your career, but at the same time, it’s one of those things that definitely come with the territory,” he said. “I can’t focus on that kind of thing though. I have to go out there and fight my fight and I can’t let anything distract me. The good thing about me is it’s really hard for me to win a boring fight. That’s the slightly bigger part of the equation – this is a sport and probably the purest form of entertainment in sport. You’ve got the NFL and you’ve got MMA and those are probably the best two sports to watch, at least in my opinion. And I think my style is exciting and entertaining to watch. At the very least, you won’t be bored or you won’t want to be turning away and reading a book at the same time. You’re gonna pay attention to the fight. So as far as that goes, I don’t think about the losses during the fight. But is it tough to swallow a loss? Yeah. That’s a really tough pill to swallow and you don’t like looking at the loss column on your record and see it racking up. But at the same time, this is MMA and this is the UFC. 98% of the UFC and Strikeforce rosters are killers, so there’s nobody being protected and there’s no way around it: some guys will lose. But for me, I just gotta go out there and fight hard and not pay attention to those things and let the chips fall after the battle’s been won or lost.”
And if you look at the matchmaking done by Joe Silva, there isn’t any drop off on the level of fighter Edwards is getting, despite the loss to Ferguson. Originally slated to face Donald Cerrone in May before getting injured, Edwards now gets Stephens.
“It’s one of the things I asked for,” he said. “I remember when I got back to the UFC, I was so excited because now I had the opportunity to fight some of the best guys in the world. The UFC roster, especially at lightweight, top to bottom everybody’s a killer. So there’s not gonna be an easy one. Every single one, you gotta go out there and be ready for. You gotta prepare properly and be ready for it. Yes, it’s awesome that Joe Silva wanted to put me in there with Cerrone, a guy that I’ve got a lot of respect for and who I think is amazing when it comes to fighting in the cage, and as a part of that weight class, it’s gonna be really, really hard to get someone that I can’t get excited for.”
As for Stephens, the Thug-Jitsu master from Austin, Texas is eager to throw down with the “Lil’ Heathen” this Friday.
“He’s a young guy, but he’s committed and dedicated to the sport,” said Edwards. “He’s constantly improving and I think the biggest thing I’ve taken from watching tape on him and studying him, even when he gets frustrated or tired, is that he takes that power with him into the late rounds. His power is always dangerous, so that’s something you have to respect and be cautious about.”
It’s funny, but when he’s talking about fighting, that’s the only time you’ll hear the normally laid-back Edwards raise his voice. Maybe that’s the secret. After 15 years, he still loves the game. And if you ask him, he hasn’t even scratched the surface on what he can learn.
“I remember when I was a kid,” he said. “I saw the first Highlander movie and ever since then, especially when I started fighting, I’ve always wished that I was one of those guys, because I guarantee you, no matter how long you live, you can always learn something new about fighting.”
source:ufc.com
“Keep your hands up.”
The words didn’t come from a coach, a training partner, or a fan. Following Josh Neer’s knockout loss to Mike Pyle in June, an upset that snapped a six fight winning streak, it was his five-year-old daughter reminding her dad of fighting’s cardinal rule.
“She told me in my next fight I have to keep my hands up,” said the welterweight veteran, “Every day I see her, ‘dad, you have to keep your hands up.’ She’ll even yell at me in practice. She’s my coach too.”
So will she be working his corner for Friday’s fight against Justin Edwards?
Neer laughs.
“She tries.”
It’s a light-hearted moment for “The Dentist” after a loss that was far from being something he could laugh off. Heading into the closing stages of a competitive first round between the two seasoned competitors, Neer tagged Pyle a few times and went on the attack looking for a finish.
“I felt like that fight was going my way and that I was going to finish the fight,” said Neer. “I remember I heard 10 seconds and I felt like I was gonna either finish the fight right there or maybe he would quit in between rounds. If not, I definitely felt like I was gonna finish in the second round. I just felt like he was ready to quit and he was breaking.”
Then Pyle landed a flush right hand and Neer fell face first to the canvas, with the referee stepping in to halt the bout with four seconds left in the round.
“He caught me with that punch and I guess I have to realize that once I have someone hurt I can’t just rush in with my hands down and just throw whatever. I have to be more cautious.”
It was only the second time in 45 pro fights that Neer had been knocked out.
“Losing like that was devastating,” he said. “It was horrible. I would rather that I got dominated and got knocked out or lost a three round war. But something like that was devastating to me. I don’t like to lose like that. It sucked, but when you fall, you gotta get back up. So I got over it pretty quick and just realized that I have to move on to the next fight.”
After nearly a decade as a professional, Neer knows better than most that the more you dwell on a defeat the more it can haunt you and keep you from moving forward. So he tossed the Pyle fight aside, re-signed with the UFC, and got ready for the next call. And even though he didn’t know much of anything about The Ultimate Fighter 13’s Edwards when his manager informed him of the fight, it didn’t matter.
“I didn’t really break him down and I don’t know anything about him,” said Neer. “I didn’t even know who he was when my manager called me and talked to me about fighting him. So I had to go look him up and I saw a couple of his youtube videos, but I don’t really know much about him. I’m focusing on myself and just trying to get better.”
It’s an overused term when talking about Neer (and no one overuses it more than me), but the Iowan is the epitome of “old school” in the still relatively young sport of mixed martial arts. The fact that he’s only 29 years old makes it even more remarkable that he’s such an old soul of the game, but considering that he came up in the legendary Miletich Fighting Systems camp that at one time housed the likes of Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, Robbie Lawler, Tim Sylvia, Drew McFedries, Tony Fryklund, Rory Markham, Spencer Fisher, and a gang of hardcore fighters, it’s not too surprising that he views the sport a lot differently than some of his peers.
“You have to get in there and put in the work and go with the good guys and that’s how you’re gonna learn,” said Neer. “You gotta get beat up a little bit if you want to get better. If you’re always the guy that’s the hammer and you’re beating up the nails, I just don’t think that you can get the experience. You’ve got to get in there and go with the guys that have been around for a long time.”
You may take your lumps along the way with this method, but in the process you learn what it takes to compete at the highest level and build up a toughness that’s hard to break.
“That’s how I came up at Miletich,” said Neer. “And I think that’s how the guys at Chute Boxe came up. They went in and they fought in the gym, and I think that’s where I get the mentality. I see all different types of guys in the gym and I have to adapt my style to them and I’m just gonna go in there and try to impose my will on him (Edwards).”
Over the years, that way of thinking and acting has made Neer a popular figure among his fellow fighters. He has trained with and is friends with the Diaz brothers, Jeremy Stephens was one of his main sparring partners back in their Iowa days, and though he may not have an action figure in his likeness, his reputation is rock solid. Even Edwards said of his opponent, “He is a real fighter who actually comes out and tries to finish opponents. He doesn't just try to squeak by on a decision. I've enjoyed watching him in the past for this reason.”
When told of this, Neer sounds almost embarrassed.
“It’s kinda weird, but I’ve been around for a long time,” he said. “Before, I used to be the younger kid and I was watching Matt Hughes and Jens Pulver and guys like that. And now the younger guys have been watching me.”
He appreciates the respect though.
“I think it’s one thing to be respected by the fans, but it’s another thing to be respected by your peers,” said Neer. “I would much rather be respected by other fighters.”
That mission is already accomplished. Now it’s time to get back in the win column, and he has every intention of doing just that, especially with the words of his youngest coach ringing in his ears.
source:ufc.com
At the time it happened, Andy Ogle was crushed, knowing that he wouldn’t be competing with his teammates on the season finale card of The Ultimate Fighter 15 on June 1st in Las Vegas. Three and a half months later, Ogle has taken a more optimistic slant on things.
“Let’s just say good things come to those who wait,” said Ogle, who will finally make his Octagon debut this Saturday against Akira Corassani. The way he sees it, the medical suspension he received from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after his TUF15 quarterfinal loss to Al Iaquinta was sort of a blessing in disguise.
“It’s been a long time, but I feel as if it’s worked out in my favor because I’ve had a long time to prepare for this fight and it’s at a better weight class for myself,” he said, looking forward to his featherweight debut in Nottingham. “I was disheartened that I didn’t get to fight on the finale with all my teammates, but at the same time, I feel as if it’s worked out better for me.”
He may be right, as the self-described “natural born entertainer” will have the TUF15 spotlight all to himself while also getting to compete in his home country of England at the same time. Most importantly though, he believes that come fight night, he’ll be the best he’s ever been. And at 8-1 as a pro thus far, “The Little Axe” has been pretty good.
“I’ve had three and a half months to think about this one guy,” he said. “On the show (TUF15) I had one week to think about a guy. It’s a lower weight class now, so I’m faster and larger for the weight, I’m prepared for it, and I’ve thought about this fight every day when I wake up and every day when I go to sleep. I have grafted my ass off for this fight, and I’m gonna put everything in that cage and leave it all out there. Just don’t blink. There are going to be fireworks, I guarantee it. I don’t usually guarantee much, but I do guarantee the best version of me you’ll ever see and I hope to put on a great performance and show people what the UFC is all about.”
That confidence isn’t created in a fighter’s head; it’s created in the gym, where days, weeks, and months of preparation with like-minded training partners and coaches make a fighter believe that anything he sees on fight night isn’t anything like what he’s seen in the gym. And that’s undoubtedly the case in Liverpool, where Ogle has been working with Team Kaobon, home to fellow UFC fighters Terry Etim and Paul Sass.
“When I went back they just treated me as if I was just normal Andy,” said Ogle of life after TUF. “It really helped a lot because they’ve got people like Terry Etim and Paul Sass, and they just get treated like normal too. We’re all fighters, we’re all trying to make it in the UFC, and just because I’m having my debut there doesn’t make me any different, and that’s the main thing, just getting my ass handed to me like normal and like everybody else. No special treatment. (Laughs) If I say I don’t want to do something, they say ‘Andy, shut the hell up, you’re doing it.’ I’m nobody, I’m just a cog in the machine.”
Luckily, one of the other cogs, lightweight up and comer Sass, is fighting on the same UFC on FUEL TVcard this weekend. And you know what they say about misery loving company.
“I look over my shoulder and sometimes after training I’ll say ‘Paul, this has been a long fight camp,’” said Ogle. “And he just goes ‘I know. I know it has.’ (Laughs) It’s not just me saying it, thank goodness. Or he’ll have an awesome day and I’ll have a down day, and the next time I’ll have an awesome day and he’ll have a down day, and we’ll just have a little laugh about it. Paul’s a very light-hearted kind of character, he takes everything in stride and he’s a very good teammate to be around when you’re going through a very tough fight camp. Paul can laugh anything off.”
The 23-year-old Ogle, a native of Newcastle, shares a similar light-hearted attitude outside the Octagon, with his sharp wit shooting him right up the charts of the best interviewees in the UFC – and he hasn’t even fought yet. Just ask him about the difficulties of being the only British fighter on TUF15.
“At the start of the show, nobody understood what I was saying,” he recalls. “I was really trying to speak slowly and I was trying to be eloquent, and it just was not working. And then I figured out if I put ‘dude’ at the end of every sentence, they figured out quite quickly what I was saying. I was saying ‘hey, how’s it going?’ ‘What did you say? I don’t understand what you’re saying.’ So I went ‘hey, how’s it going, dude?’ ‘Oh, well now that you asked, I’m awesome.’ (Laughs) And then it started coming out like Tourette’s: ‘how’s it going, dude? Do you want to roll, dude? I’m going to the toilet, dude.’”
Ogle became a popular member of the reality show cast, even among his castmates, but that wasn’t exactly the plan going in.
“At the start, I initially set my goals to be a one man wrecking machine and basically go through the whole tournament and not talk to anybody and be by myself, but I’m naturally a bit of an extrovert, and I like to be friendly, and before I knew it, I was friends with people, and it was tough, because what’s worse than being in the competition with everyone is being in the competition with 16 guys and actually liking the guys and being upset when somebody loses. But at the same time, you’re saying ‘I shouldn’t be upset; I’m not out of the competition yet.’”
After going 8-1 on the UK circuit and getting to Las Vegas, Ogle decisoned Brendan Weafer to earn a spot in the TUF house, and then upset Mike Rio via submission to make it to the quarterfinals. The knockout loss to Iaquinta ended his quest for the TUF15 crown, but didn’t deter him on his goal of greater glory in the UFC. That journey begins this Saturday, and he’s taking it on with no pressure whatsoever.
“People are always saying there’s pressure, and asking how you feel about this fight, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘there’s pressure to get to the UFC,’” he explains. “People say records are for DJs; they’re the guys that have s**t records. Your record gets you to the UFC and being an entertaining fighter and putting on the performances that you know you can do and having a great fight and being technically above the rest and being able to hang with the top dogs, that’s all alright, but mixed martial arts is a crazy sport and one little loss from something silly can be a huge setback. I’m in a position where I’m getting to have my actual UFC debut and not many people get to do that, especially in their home country in front of a home crowd with all the momentum I’ve built up so far, and I feel as if this fight camp’s been very tough and very long, and everyone’s been throwing everything at me. There’s nothing Akira can throw at me which hasn’t been thrown at me before at least twice. So I’m just gonna have fun. I’m a natural born entertainer. I’m just a little bit gutted that I’m not on the main card so I get to show more people on the TV, but my time will come and I’ll be on the main card one day.”
It’s hard to doubt him, considering his drive, determination, and love for the sport, something he picked up the second he discovered it and something he wants to show the world come Saturday night.
“I know what I want in life, and the moment I put on some gloves and started doing this sport, I said ‘I just need mixed martial arts in my life.’ It makes me feel alive and it made me a better person because I push myself every day, and I just love it.”
source:ufc.com
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