UFC 149 has now seen nine fighters withdraw: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thiago Alves, Jose Aldo, Siyar Bahadurzada, Michael Bisping, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, George Roop, Thiago Silva, and latest, Claude Patrick. In addition, Erik Koch and Shogun Rua were moved from the card due to opponent injuries.

Claude Patrick came on the Underground, and addressed distressed fans.

Truth about the UFC “injury bug”

From:

Member Since: 1/1/01

Posts: 2223

The much fabled UFC 149 injury bug has touched down close to home, much closer than I’d like, actually taking me out of the upcoming fight vs. James Head in Calgary’s UFC debut event.

Training was going awesome and I had managed to put in a solid 13 weeks of work leading up to the fight training here at Elite Training Centre, at Tristar gym in Montreal, and finishing up at team Jaco Training Center in Forida with the crew in the new Blackzillians home base.

Now usually I make myself pretty scarce online before and around fight time as nothing really great comes out of Internet banter, for me at least. Still, i kept getting word that there were a lot of changes going on with the card, ect.

Now last week it just so happens that i got hurt training and after a few days I realised I’m not going to be able to compete at the event, so i zipped back home to take advantage of Canada’s lovely health care system, and start getting back on track. This morning i go online and wow, there’s a pretty vocal contingent of people screaming bloody murder over a few changes to the card?

FOLKS… it’s the top of the sport your still going to get good fights!! Look at some of the guys competing even on the undercard. You may not know them now, but they did the work to be in the show, and can fight.

As a result critcism sent their way, many fighters don’t show the Underground much love, but being a long-time member and lifelong fight fanatic, I still have a soft spot for some of you.

So let me fill you in on what must be an industry secret.

Fighters are almost always HURT.

1- There is very rarely a time when you as a fighter can make it through an 8+week training camp and to a fight without being hurt somewhere; it just doesn’t happen.

In every fight i’ve had since being with the UFC things were far from ideal. But that’s the game, you just push through and do your thing come fight time. Pretty much every MMA athlete I know will tell you the same. Yeah some guys take the shit too far, and claim that had Ebola or Smallpox before the fight which is why they lost but no REALLY those jokers aside, things do happen that mess you up.

2- missing a fight sucks more for the athlete than anyone else involved.

Take my case for example:

Step 1- I get a call, email, message saying hey your want to fight “xyz” on “abc” date?

Say yes proceed to step 2

Step 2- stop almost everything else I’m doing at the drop of a dime and start planning camp.

Thats done go to step 3

Step 3- now Toronto is one of North America’s best cities and a real hot bed for MMA fans, BUT it’s also full to the brim with toilet paper soft “mma bad boys” that don’t really want to do anything that may result in some adversity, so don’t train hard, or, if they are talented are so indoctrinated by their cult-like training facilities they dare not train witha group of other talented athletes from outside their social circle. As a result you find most high level guys have to do training camp or at least some of it out of town.

So you decide where you going and go to step 4

Step 4- Pay travel, food,accomadation costs and get to work in this training camp.

THAT IS COSTLY people VERY COSTLY on a variety of fronts.

As the very wise Melvin guillard put it to me: “I got a special place in my heart for anyone that’s hurt, but especially those UFC #@$#@#’s cause that’s a lot of work put in to be ready.”

Let’s show the guys on UFC 149 a bit of respect, and watch a good show. Some quality guys there for sure. I think that Fedor vs. Jose Aldo super fight’s gonna have to wait for a bit.

CP

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