Modern Fighting

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - When it comes to competing and fighting, Kurt Pellegrino blames everything on his father. That’s just fine in the lightweight contender’s eyes, as fighting has become more than just a hobby or an outlet - it’s a way of life and the way he supports his wife and daughter.”My father taught me to become a winner,” said Pellegrino. “He said it’s all right to lose, but it’s better to win. In fact, me and my dad had a long talk about that, and I told him ‘I am the way I am because of you and it’s a good thing and I’m happy about it.’”

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Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Motivation. It comes in different forms for different people in vastly different situations. For rising lightweight star Frankie Edgar, it can hit him on his daily drive to the gym.”You drive past a construction site and it’s raining and its cold out, and I don’t want to be there,” laughs the former union plumber, whose success in the UFC in the past year has allowed him to put his day job to the side and become a full-time fighter.

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It’s hard to say what Jay Hieron’s greatest strength is these days. Once known almost exclusively for his wrestling, the IFL welterweight champion has improved so steadily in every aspect of the sport that when asked what they need to look out for his opponents usually come up with the same answer: everything.

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Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - If you’re looking for similarities between welterweight adversaries Anthony Johnson and Tommy Speer, you can find plenty of them on the surface - both are farm-raised, both have wrestling backgrounds, both are short on world-class experience but long on potential. Yet when the bell rings on Wednesday night in Colorado, Johnson believes his power may be the one thing that separates the two prospects now and forever.

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Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - By its very nature, fighting is a solitary sport. When the bell rings, you don’t have other team members in the Octagon with you, helping you achieve victory. There is no one to blame, nowhere to run. On the other hand, any fighter will tell you that while you may enter competition alone, it is a team effort to get you to that point, with trainers, training partners, nutritionists, conditioners, and managers all doing their part to get you ready to fight.

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Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - It had everything you want to see in a fight - skill, intensity, heart, and most importantly, drama. But when it’s over, there can only be one winner, and on December 8, 2007, the man with his hand raised wasn’t Clay Guida.

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