[ad_1]
Din Thomas received the call shortly after the UFC announced his longtime charge, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who would defend his belt against Darren Till at UFC 228.
It was six weeks away from the pay-per-view event, which takes place Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Soon, Thomas found himself in Los Angeles to supervise sessions at the famous Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood.
It was then in Milwaukee that Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) shared a long training relationship with Roufusport. Most of the work was done there, but both went to St. Louis, the champion's native. They continued to move.
Thomas, a UFC veteran and coach of the famous American team, thought Colby Covington (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) would be the challenge at their next meeting. It turned out that the acting garbage champion was not ready to take a place at the top of the map.
"I thought it was a little weird, but it's the fighting game," said Thomas of the move to Till (17-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC). "It's entertainment. When the Superbowl arrives and Jay Z is supposed to play at half-time, and that he does not show up, the show has to go on. "
The Woodley team has accumulated as much work as possible in no time. The changing landscape, however, was not without utility. Thomas said it helps Woodley collect information from new and old sources, allowing him to get in shape physically, and that helps him prepare for the specific challenge ahead.
Din Thomas
The idea is to put all these pieces together and put them together in a strategy that represents the antitode of Woodley's opponent. At the center of the plan is the champion, who draws from his managers to find the right elements to win.
"Tyron is a brilliant human being," said Thomas MMAjunkie. "We all got closer and decided to break things down with the simplest technique:" That's how we're going to handle this. "
Duke Roufus got the call shortly after Woodley and did not look at the timeline. He does not like long camps. they wear fighters. A six-week push seemed fun.
"I always compare the fighting game to that of Apocalypse Now," he said. "When you're in the bush, you want to do R & R and when you're in R & R, you want to be in the bush. The problem is that we live to be in the bush.
During the month and the camp, Roufus served as a strategist on strike; offensive, defensive and inputs to take off. As a former kickboxer champion, he is a highly sought-after MMA strike coach.
Duc Roufus
Roufus said that there were plenty of existing assets in his gym to give Woodley the appearance of a Till. Most of them were not an exact physical match. The coach named Gerald Meerschaert, a 6-foot-1 athlete with a 77.5-inch reach. But what they lacked stature, they compensated with style.
"I think Darren Till is an excellent fighter, but he does a lot of things in the wheelhouse of our team – kickboxing, muay thai," said Roufus. "Till is very similar to a lot of good fighters in our camp. He's good at jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. We had a lot of integrated training resources to use, guys with very similar skills.
When Till entered the picture, the coaches both found favorable favorable differences for the champion. Roufus and Thomas see Till as an extension of their previous opponents – tall, lean and left-handed. A punch to the advantage of the reach and a solvable puzzle.
"It would be one thing if it was not a different type of opponent," he said. "But (Till) is fighting very much like everyone Tyron has faced in his last seven fights."
Coaches admit that they like the style of Till. Just as much, they like the cheeky and arrogant energy that he brings to a fight. They also think he is about to study what it means to face a world-class opponent.
"I'm a fan of the Liverpool football club," said Roufus. "I have no ill will towards him. But I think he's seeing the fights (Stephen) "Wonderboy" (Thompson) and the fight with Demian Maia, and he sees Tyron as a kid's game. I think it's going to become aggressive, and it's playing in our hand. Tyron is doing very well against aggressive guys recently. "
In terms of competition, Till does not pay attention to his prospects against Woodley. He thinks he's going to dominate the fight and take the belt without much trouble. Thomas does not doubt him.
"I think he really believes what he feels about himself," Thomas said. "Britain has a history of firecrackers, and they are very proud to be able to hit. There are bangers in Liverpool, and Darren showed that he could stay with the best of them.
"There is a difference between being too confident and not knowing what is happening on the other side. I think he just does not understand what's on the other side.
Of course, Roufus and Thomas are waiting for Woodley to show him.
"They have the same number of fights, but Tyron fought at the top of the food chain," said Roufus. "One of the things Tyron did for him is that he failed. Before being a champion, he had setbacks where he fell short. Sometimes you get up, you have not had to face clashes yet. "
For more information on UFC 228, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
Source link
