A custom set of golf clubs is a true game changer. Watch two Golfweek Raters experience a custom club fitting at the beautiful Hideaway Golf Club. With the use of the Trackman launch monitor system, COBRA fitters find the perfect shaft and head …
A custom set of golf clubs is a true game changer. Watch two Golfweek Raters experience a custom club fitting at the beautiful Hideaway Golf Club. With the use of the Trackman launch monitor system, COBRA fitters find the perfect shaft and head combination that fits their game. Custom clubs can lead to lower scores by reducing mishits and maximizing game enjoyment.
ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera talks about the unique ethos behind ONE Championship, and says the promotion is ready to take the US ‘by storm’.
[autotag]Brandon Vera[/autotag] is a happy, content man right now. The 42-year-old veteran is sitting on top of the world as ONE Championship’s heavyweight champion, he is expecting the imminent arrival of his first son, and he is looking forward to getting back to action once ONE Championship resumes their event schedule later this year.
But being a champion in ONE Championship is about more than simply being better than your peers, as Vera (16-8) explained. As well as being their best inside the cage – known in ONE as the “circle” – fighters are encouraged to be their best away from the cage, too.
“You get to realize that what you do is bigger than the sport of martial arts, the sport of MMA, the sport of all of the martial arts coming together. It’s more than (that),” he said during an interview with MMA Junkie from his home in Guam. “It’s you as a person, it’s you as an ambassador, it’s you as a good citizen of the world, promoting goodwill and helping everywhere that you can. Always showing and striving for the values, honor, discipline and integrity.
“When you join a company that’s doing business this way, they’re doing meetings this way, they’re doing everything a certain way – by the martial arts code – it’s very easy for you as an athlete to come over and transition into this role that they want from you. They want you to become the most perfect martial artist that you can become, and they want you to become an ambassador for the world of goodwill.”
That altruistic approach could be open to cynicism from the outside, but Vera said that ONE’s approach is much more than just a marketing ploy. Instead, he said it’s a bonafide ethos that runs through the entire organization, right through to the athletes themselves.
“When somebody is doing these kinds of things and not just ‘showing’ these kinds of things – like, I would say, ‘doing it for the ‘Gram, Facebooking it, TikTok-ing it’ – it’s not for show. It’s real,” said Vera.
“They take the world champions to every single high official meeting that they have and they let us mingle with everyone. And we hear the stories of sharing and caring and events they have put together, and it doesn’t end. So, for me, working at ONE Championship doesn’t even feel like a job.”
‘No honeymoon period’
Vera has been with ONE Championship since 2014, so is ideally placed to offer insight and advice to fighters coming into the promotion for the first time. He cited a conversation he had with former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who was initially taken aback by the way ONE went about their business following his arrival in the promotion last year.
“From all of the organizations he went to all around the entire world that he held belts in, he came in and asked me, ‘Hey Brandon. Is this really real, or is this just like the honeymoon period?’ and I said, ‘No, man. Mr. Alvarez, it’s like this every single day. There is no honeymoon period.’ And then, when he started shaking his head and you start to understand that, wow, this is not a front. Nobody’s pretending. Everyone wants everyone else to succeed and help promote health throughout the world, and goodwill. I keep saying goodwill, because everyone has their own version of goodwill and helping. ONE Championship just wants you to shine in your own way and help the world as you can. And they’ll show you showing out for the world.
“It doesn’t makes sense, compared to all the other organizations,” he laughed. “It’s not normal!”
Heading Stateside
Vera said he’s convinced that the American MMA audience would fall in love with the ONE Championship product if and when the promotion broke ground in the United States.
“I think ONE Championship would honestly take America by storm,” he stated. “They were almost ready for Pride. They were almost ready for that style, the Bushido code. They were almost ready back then. Then it fell apart. Life happens, things happen.
“But what ONE Championship is offering now is what Pride had, with six turbos on it and nitrous ready to kick in. I think the US of A would love this product and absolutely adore it as soon as it hit the stands. Because the American culture is ‘doing it for the ‘Gram, doing it for Facebooking, TikTok-ing.’ If we can bring this product to the US as soon as possible to compete with all the other brands, and you can see that this is as real and as true martial arts from their home life to the middle of the ‘circle’. And no bad press, you have real heroes who never get in trouble and don’t do things wrong and try to stay by the book. I think America would eat it up, especially at this time right now.
“People are looking for a guiding light. Something that’s shining that’s not fake or a front. It’s not a sideshow. It’s really real, so I think an American crowd, especially right now, could use this in our lives. It’s something that, man, the universe is drawing us to it. It’s time.”
Vera said that one of his remaining career goals is, “to fight in Madison Square Garden in New York, if we get to go to the United States,” and suggested that, while bringing ONE Championship to the United States would win over the fans, the promotion is already winning over the athletes themselves, including many who currently compete in rival organizations.
“I can tell you that at least 70%, 80% of all athletes have been calling, emailing, texting, Facebooking, DM-ing, IG-ing, PM-ing, trying to get on the ONE Championship roster one way or another,” he said. “And I’m talking about guys from other organizations. Guys from Top 10 in different weight classes, ready to move on. So I think as soon as ONE Championship kicks the doors down and does a show in the US, the floodgates will open.”
Who is the ideal next pick for the Steelers after selecting Chase Claypool?
[jwplayer o8ztpEdN-ThvAeFxT]
I think most of us assumed the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to use their second-round pick on an offensive player. The Steelers defense was elite in 2019 and the offense among the very worst. The team only scored a touchdown in the red zone on 35 percent of their trips. This alone made the selection of wide receiver Chase Claypool a smart one.
But what does this mean for the Steelers pick in the third round?
I expect the Steelers staff to stick to the plan. And I expect them to once again go offense if the opportunity presents itself. This means Pittsburgh could add a playmaker at running back in what is shaping up to be a deep class.
The ideal player for that third-round pick is Memphis running back Antonio Gibson. He’s got elite speed at 228 pounds with 4.39 speed and proved he could do everything at Memphis as a running back and wide receiver.
Everyone wants to see James Conner come back better than ever but the Steelers must plan for the future. The addition of Claypool shows the front office is committed to helping the offense catch up to the defense. Gibson in the third round would be the finishing touch on the Steelers skill players in this draft.
“TUF 28” winner Juan Espino is making lemonade out of lemons during a most difficult times.
Spain has been one of the country’s hit hardest by the coronavirus in the early going of the global pandemic, causing the country to take drastic measures of a mandatory lockdown in hopes of containing the spread of the virus. That’s meant major changes for UFC heavyweight Juan Espino, who detailed what life is like in these uncertain times.
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[autotag]Juan Espino[/autotag]’s life has changed drastically in the last few weeks.
Because of Spain’s mandatory quarantine during the global coronavirus pandemic, the UFC heavyweight remains mostly indoors and only leaves home to get food and supplies when necessary. Espino (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) lives in Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s main Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa. Approximately one-third of the worldwide population is on lockdown in some form because of COVID-19, which, as of Sunday morning, was more than 665,000 cases and responsible for nearly 31,000 deaths.
Spain is in one of the worst situations, accounting for nearly 75,000 cases and 6,000 dead.
“It’s a very complicated moment. We’re now the country with the second most deaths due to the virus,” Espino told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think a big part of this is the stupidity of the politicians that are leading this country. The truth is that I’m not a person that likes to speak a whole lot about politics because I’m not really capacitated to do that. But taking things lightly, not being responsible, not taking action when it was required has made this virus not only destroy the lives of many people, but also the economy of my country.
“And like we’re saying here, after this let’s hope we’re able to surpass it and come out of this well. There’s going to be an economic situation almost like if we’d gone through a war.”
Despite being in one of the places in Spain least affected by COVID-19, the Canary Islands have reported more than 1,000 infections, with 253 of those in Gran Canaria.
The Spanish government has amped up measures to contain the spread, forcing mandatory lockdown on the entire country. People are confined to their homes except to buy food or medicine. The parliament recently extended the lockdown until April 12, and anyone caught outside for non-essential reasons will face heavy fines and even arrest.
“People here are taking this very seriously,” Espino said. “We’ve been capable of neutralizing the situation. We’re only leaving our houses to go to the grocery store, and only one person per household is allowed to go. We’re avoiding any type of reasons to leave home, we’re confined to our homes, and we follow the many tips from experts like washing our hands, not making contact with people. When you have to cough, you cough on your arm or on a napkin. If you have to go out, make sure you’re going out with masks and gloves. Also constantly using disinfectant. So we’ve been able to control it.
“We’ve been two weeks in quarantine. After the two-week period, you see the cases beginning to drop. We’re not like Barcelona or other cities that are having many serious cases. And it’s not even the coronavirus; it’s also just regular things. Imagine you have a heart attack, you have a car accident, or you have an accident at home where you’re cut open and you have to go to the hospital. The lines at the hospitals are infinite, and many people are going to the hospitals not only for coronavirus but due to the accidents that are happening.
“There are stories that are very sad, and it’s become a very dangerous situation. I don’t want to be an alarmist, but I do want to tell all my friends in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and around the world – luckily, I have friends all over Latin America – I do want to tell them to be very careful because every day this situation is changing and becoming worse. So keep calm, inform yourself as much as you can, and look for the real news.
“There’s a lot of people that are taking advantage of this moment to make up news and spread misinformation. You don’t have to go far off, just look at what is happening in Italy, Spain, countries that are are first world, who have proper hospitals and medical equipment. Imagine how this problem could be in Venezuela and countries that are not as developed. It’s going to be a rough situation, and I hope I’m wrong, but this virus is very violent.”
The significance of structure
Confined to his home, Espino, winner of Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has done his best to be productive. He’s taken a very methodical and structured approach to the lockdown. And even from home, Espino runs a very busy and varied regimen.
“I have a weekly schedule, like a routine,” Espino said. “So I wake up, I drink a lot of water, I stretch 15, 20 minutes to get the body going, and then I make breakfast. After that there’s several things I like to do. I like to watch the news to see how the country is doing; the ministers are there every day announcing the new measures and what’s being done. I also like to work on my creativity, so I like to paint and do my mandala – it’s a type of mediation I do. In fact, those who followed me on “TUF” should know about that work I do.
“After that, I dedicate some time to social media. I speak to my friends. Actually I’m now doing a few interviews with UFC fighters. Yesterday, I spoke to Aleksei Oleinik, and soon I will speak to Junior dos Santos, Santiago Ponzinibbio. I like to do these because in some ways it entertains my comrades. I understand these are tough times.
“Then I do a training session around 12:30-1 p.m. before it’s time to eat. I have a routine that my trainer from UFC PI sends me. Then I eat, rest a little, and around 4 p.m. I have a boxing class. I finish around 5:00 p.m. I rest again, watch some TV Around 7 p.m. I watch and study potential opponents. Maybe I spend an hour, hour-and-a-half. I watch everything, even their trajectories outside the UFC and see how they came up. Then after that, I speak to my family, and I relax.
“So that’s usually my daily dynamic. I also have a to-do list. At times, I read a book, I have yoga classes, some salsa classes. I mix it up in my routine and do my best to stay entertained. It’s actually somewhat similar to ‘TUF.’ You’re stuck two months in a house, so you have to find things to do. You’re not going to just drink beer and lay around all day.”
Fighting takes a backseat for now
Juan Espino victorious at the TUF 28 Finale in December 2018.
Espino last fought in November 2018 when he was crowned champion of TUF 28. He defeated Justin Frazier with a first-round submission. The Spaniard was out of commission for a while due to complications from a broken hand. However, Espino is back to 100 percent and said he was on the verge of getting booked for a UFC bout until the coronavirus hit.
The UFC was forced to postpone three events – UFC London on March 21, UFC Columbus on March 28, and UFC Portland on April 11. The promotion intends to resume its schedule with UFC 249 on April 18 – an event that currently has no location after being pulled from New York – and beyond.
When asked if he’d be willing to take a fight in this global pandemic, Espino simply said the question won’t hold up for long. He’s unable to fly out of Gran Canaria, but even if he was, Espino thinks the same will soon apply to other countries, potentially forcing the UFC to postpone even more events.
[lawrence-related id=500687]
“I don’t think that question will hold up a week from now,” Espino said. “When the virus really gets serious, it’s not going to be in question, because people are not going to be able to travel. Countries are going to be shut down. What are they (UFC) going to do? Get a private jet to come get me? I think that’s very difficult. I would’ve been down to do it if I would’ve been in the States – fly somewhere, fight and then return home.
“I don’t have any interest going against UFC or their advisers. They’re going to run things how they think is best, but unfortunately everything is about to get more complicated. I don’t want to come off as an alarmist or scare people, but things will get tough. To Spain you can’t fly in. I can’t leave my island; it’s impossible. How can I leave? So how will people from the U.K. travel to the U.S.? Maybe you do (UFC 249) in the U.S., and you go get Khabib (Nurmagomedov), but when the U.S. decides to take it seriously, and you won’t be able to fly from New York to Chicago or from Nevada to California or any other state. It’s just not going to be possible.
“I’ve never had issues not fighting or rejecting fights, but I think this is one of those things that doesn’t depend on me, but on the situation. And the situation doesn’t encourage things to happen.”
‘Take advantage of the time’
UFC heavyweight Juan Espino, right, and his sister Virginia at home in the Canary Islands.
Many countries have and will continue to ban travel and close borders as the spread of coronavirus gets worse. It’s uncertain how much that will affect the UFC’s schedule in the coming weeks.
Espino hopes things return to normal soon in Spain and around the world, but he believes it will probably take a while before that happens. For now, Espino has no other option than to wait out the situation at home. In the meantime, he wants to share some advice for anyone on mandatory lockdown now or in the coming weeks.
“You might be able to lay around drinking, watching TV and your phone for a week,” Espino said. “But there will come a time that day, day after, day after, day after, you’re just doing the same thing, and you have to go, ‘Hey, this won’t be over soon.’ When you see the scale is going up, you’re gaining weight, in a bad mood, you have to make a routine.
“I recommend people to do exercise and to set times for things. Say every day at 6 p.m. I’m calling a family member. Maybe your sister, your cousin, a friend, and communicate with people through video. Watch movies, read books, write a book – I mean, what better time than now? Now we have time, so what else do you need? If you can’t do something now, you probably won’t do it ever. Excuses are what you have.
“So take advantage of the time, make those calls you haven’t done in a while to say hi to a friend or make amends with someone. Send those messages of support, be with the family, stay calm. Because it’s a stressful situation. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to force people to take this seriously. But trust me, the moment will come when they will understand the situation. In Spain we had no other option. It was impossible.”
Michael Shiavello recalls the challenges of calling ONE Chamipionship 109, the first major sports event to adapt to coronavirus fears.
February 28, 2020 will live long in the memory of veteran sports broadcaster and MMA commentator Michael Schiavello.
ONE Championship’s Australian play-by-play man has called the action at Olympic Games, K-1 events and some of the biggest martial arts shows and promotions in Asia, but his stint behind the mic at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” was something of a first.
He was commentating in a virtually silent, almost empty room.
The event, held at Singapore Indoor Stadium, was forced behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in the region as ONE decided to keep the event going rather than cancel it. It meant the sports world had its first major behind-closed-doors event of the coronavirus era, and Schiavello was on the call.
“I actually think that we may have been one of the first sports organizations on the planet – not just mixed martial arts – to announce we were going to do an empty stadium show,” Schiavello told MMA Junkie.
“Not long after Chatri (Sityodtong, ONE CEO) announced it, Serie A and different soccer leagues began to follow suit, and there were other sports that then came on board and started doing empty arenas. I believe ONE Championship was the first organization to say, ‘Hey. We’re not going to cancel. We’re going to go on.’ We’re just going to do it in an empty arena after discussing it with health officials and government officials in Singapore.
“I give full credit to Chatri, because it’s not just about making money (like) a money making machine. With Chatri and with ONE, it’s about the fans. It’s about hope. It’s about inspiring people, people that are down on their luck, people that are having a hard time. And especially in Asia, where the coronavirus emanated from, they were suffering before the rest of the world. (It was about) giving these people something to hold on to, something where they can sit in front of their TVs on a Friday night and be entertained.”
More than just a paycheck
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Schiavello said that those among ONE Championship’s skeleton crew knew they had a responsibility to put on a great show for the fans stuck at home, they but also said they felt a great sense of pride in being able to give fans in the virus-hit region a period of respite and entertainment.
“The beauty of it was when we were all there, we all knew we were doing something above and beyond each of us getting a paycheck,” Schiavello said. “We knew we were doing something for the greater good. It was already a worldwide pandemic that already had most of Asia in fits of anxiety and panic. People losing their jobs, people going to the hospital and losing their lives. Our contribution was, ‘Hey. You know what? We can give you an escape from this terrible reality for four hours on a Friday night. If we can do that for you, that makes us feel good that we’ve given something back.'”
Staying safe during the pandemic
The behind-closed-doors nature of ONE Championship 109 required stringent measures to be put in place to ensure the health and safety of those working at the show, and Schiavello explained how he and his fellow teammates were made to go through a series of checks before even being allowed into the Singapore Indoor Stadium for the event.
“When we went to the arena the night before for the rehearsals, we arrived one by one and they held up a thermometer to our foreheads, took our temperature, and the rule was if you had a temperature of 38 degrees (100.4 F) or more, you weren’t coming in. You were going to isolation to quarantine. You were going to the hospital,” he explained. “So we all had to take our temperature, sign a health declaration form, get a special wristband, then we were permitted into the arena.
“The same thing happened the next night. No one was allowed in the arena – only one cornerman. There were guys that flew out with their families. Rocky Ogden, who fought the main event that evening, flew out with his parents, his girlfriend and his coach, Wayne Parr. They had to stay in the hotel. Only Wayne was allowed into the arena, so even his parents could not come. Back then, it wasn’t a matter of 100 people or less; it was a matter of a totally empty arena for full safety.”
Keeping up the energy
The event gave the fighters on the card an unusual experience as they contested their respective matchups in an empty, almost silent arena. The only sound came from the fighters’ corners and from the commentary position, where Schiavello and co-commentator Mitch Chilson delivered their high-energy play-by-play during each fight.
Keeping that energy level high, despite the lack of crowd atmosphere, gave the Schiavello a unique challenge as he tried to maintain his trademark, high-octane commentary style, while also realizing he had to tweak his approach to make up for the lack of crowd noise in the arena.
“Being in that environment and commentating in that environment, it was very challenging, because you don’t have the crowd to feed off,” he explained. “You haven’t got the lulls and the manic highs and the crescendos. The pitch of the audience is like a symphony. It’s like an orchestra. You’re an opera singer, you’re a Pavarotti, and you’ve got the maestro conducting the orchestra, and when the orchestra starts to pitch high and crescendo, your voice crescendos in that high C. But when you haven’t got that maestro, that orchestra playing to you, you’ve got to create those crescendos and those lulls yourself, so it’s very difficult to be able to bring that energy and fill in that empty air that you wouldn’t necessarily need to fill in if you had an audience there.
“Mitch and I, we prepared for it, and we decided we’d be a little somber in the opening that we did with Chatri. We’d lay the foundation. Then, from there, it was full-bore. It was no holding back, balls to the wall, giving it a full-pelt commentary like we usually do.”
It was an experience that Schiavello says he’ll never forget as he helped bring live martial arts action into homes across the world during a time when many of those watching desperately needed a positive distraction from the world around them.
“It certainly was different, and I am proud to have been a part of it,” Schiavello said. “I felt like for four hours on a Friday night, millions of people who were watching – particularly those watching in Asia – they got some relief from the panic, the anxiety, the sickness, and the frustration that they were feeling there and then.”
The College Golf Live Spring Series concludes Tuesday, March 17, as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Fla. Audiences can tune in at Golfweek.com/Valspar2020 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET to view the …
The College Golf Live Spring Series concludes Tuesday, March 17, as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Fla. Audiences can tune in at Golfweek.com/Valspar2020 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET to view the action on their computer or mobile device.
A PGA Tour exemption is on the line for the individual champion at Floridian National Golf Club, where current Tour member Matthew Wolff won in 2019. The event, hosted by 16-time national champion University of Houston, boasts the top-ranked regular season field in college golf. This year’s Valspar Collegiate field includes teams from the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 conferences.
PGA Champion, three-time NCAA champion, and veteran golf commentator Steve Elkington will call the action alongside broadcaster Taylor Zarzour and on-course reporter Diane Knox.
About College Golf Live
College Golf Live is dedicated to expanding media coverage of college and amateur golf by producing live telecasts of top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments. Keep up with the latest events at collegegolflive.com and follow along on Twitter and Instagram @collegegolflive.
Teams competing this year:
Texas
Duke
Georgia Tech
LSU
Auburn
Wake Forest
Florida State
Vanderbilt
Texas A&M
Arkansas
Baylor
South Carolina
Houston
USF
The College Golf Live Spring Series moves to Oregon’s coastline Tuesday as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Bandon Dunes Collegiate. Audiences can tune in at Golfweek.com/BandonDunes2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET to view the …
The College Golf Live Spring Series moves to Oregon’s coastline Tuesday as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Bandon Dunes Collegiate. Audiences can tune in at Golfweek.com/BandonDunes2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET to view the action on their computer or mobile device.
Teams will compete at the Pacific Dunes course, renowned masterpiece of golf course architect Tom Doak. This year’s event, hosted by University of Idaho, is a Pac 12 showdown between six conference teams including Oregon, UCLA, and Washington. It’s a rare opportunity to view elite live golf at Bandon Dunes, which also is the site of the 2020 U.S. Amateur Championship.
Coverage for the livestream is provided by PGA Tour favorite Ricky Barnes, who will call the action alongside ESPN personality Ben Lyons.
About College Golf Live
College Golf Live is dedicated to expanding media coverage of college and amateur golf by producing live telecasts of top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments. Keep up with the latest events at collegegolflive.com and follow along on Twitter and Instagram @collegegolflive.
Teams competing this year:
UCLA
Oregon
Washington
Oregon State
Washington St
Utah
San Jose State
Idaho
Seattle U
Denver
Northern Colorado
Cal-Baptist
Fresno State
Seton Hall
Boise State
Kansas
Former teenage amateur standout Taylor Guardado is ready to kickstart her pro career, almost nine years after her last fight.
Nearly nine years since her last fight, former amateur standout [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag] is turning pro and looking to make an instant impact.
Competing under her maiden name of Taylor Stratford, Guardado was once considered one of the hottest rising prospects in female amateur MMA. Starting her career as a teenager, she amassed a 9-1 amateur record with wins over the likes of future big-show fighters Raquel Pennington, Amanda Bell and Ashlee Evans-Smith, and her only defeat came against a certain rising star named Ronda Rousey.
Now 28 and a mother to a 2-year-old son, Guardado says it’s time to enter the fray once again, this time as a professional, as she leaps straight into Invicta Fighting Championships’ eight-woman, one-night bantamweight tournament, Phoenix Series 3, in Kansas City, Kan. The event streamed lives on March 6 on UFC Fight Pass.
Mixing with future stars
Chatting to MMA Junkie from the mats of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Guardado looked back at her amateur career, when she was considered to be a potential star of the future, and revealed how her lone defeat to the biggest name in the sport built a friendship that helped give her perspective on her own career path.
“When I started, it wasn’t really a very popular thing for women back in 2009; it was still getting started, so when I got into it, I knew I wanted to do it in the long run,” she told MMA Junkie. “Meeting Ronda Rousey – meeting anyone I fought, like Raquel Pennington, Ashlee Evans-Smith – it’s been fun. Now I took a little time off, some of it my own choice, some of it because I had to, but now it’s a good time to get back, and I feel great.”
That lone defeat to Rousey brought the pair together, and Guardado’s reaction to being finished by the future Strikeforce and UFC champion’s trademark armbar earned her instant respect from the former Olympian.
“Literally, she liked that I got angry after my loss to her,” she explained. “I threw a straight temper tantrum after my loss. I was in the back, I was pissed off because I hadn’t lost before, but also because I didn’t tap to that armbar. She came up to me and was like, ‘I respect that mentality that you don’t want to lose.’ We exchanged numbers on Facebook and ended up staying close for a little while.”
That relationship saw Guardado offer to help Rousey get out of a contractual issue by agreeing to step in to take one of Rousey’s fights in order to let her move on to Strikeforce. While Rousey was a woman in a hurry to get to the top, Guardado, four years Rousey’s junior, knew she had more time on her side.
“I just remember seeing how far she was going with it and I was like, ‘I can do that, too,” she said. “‘It may not be right now, but I know I can do that. I’m still young.'”
A change of plans
Under different circumstances, Guardado could easily be a seasoned, experienced professional fighter with multiple fights in a big organization by now. But her career took a different path to those of her high-profile opponents from her amateur days.
Things seemed all set for an eventual transition to the pros but, after falling out with her coach in Reno, Guardado looked around for a new gym and eventually landed in Vegas, where she met her husband and, soon after, had a baby. At that point, her immediate priorities had changed, but her desire to train never diminished and, crucially, she never closed the door on her fighting career.
“I never really stopped training, that was kind of a big thing; I just never really looked for a fight, to be honest,” she said. “I don’t think I ever put a limit as far as my time goes. I’m still young – I’m still in my 20s, you know? But it was just a matter of when I could really commit to it and really take the time out and find really good coaching and feel comfortable with where I’m at and get my focus back.”
Now that focus is well and truly back. With her son often joining her and her husband in their home gym to hit pads – “It’s super cute!” – Guardado has found her home on the mats of Xtreme Couture and is preparing to dive straight in at the deep end, with the possibility of three fights in one night, some nine years after her last competitive appearance inside the cage.
“I had a full-time career, it was salary-based, (an) amazing career making good money, then postpartum (depression) kicked in and I couldn’t function well,” she explained. “So I took some time off from work, and I started working out at a regular gym. Then I was like, ‘Hey, one day would you mind holding mitts for me?’ and (my husband) held mitts for me upstairs, and I was like, ‘Oh, I still want to do this.’ I reached out to a couple of coaches here and they were like, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have you in again,’ so I started going back to pro practices, and it’s just been non-stop since then.”
Back in the mix
Guardado has been in full-time professional training since April 2019, and will make her return at Invicta FC’s Phoenix Series 3, where she’ll look to win three fights in one night to win the tournament and kickstart her MMA career in eye-catching fashion. It’s a huge test for “No Mercy,” who said she can’t wait to get back into competitive action.
“It’s going to be a party,” she laughed. “We’ve been looking for a fight since August of last year, with everyone saying no or dropping out quickly when they found out my record, I guess. So we were like, ‘Well, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to just fight whoever says yes.’
“Then (Invicta president) Shannon Knapp reached out and she was like, ‘Hey, I have a tournament coming up. You’re going to have to fight three times in one night if you win each of your fights.’ And I was like, ‘I want to get into this. Let’s do it again! Why not now? Let’s make this my year!'”
After so long away from the cage, Guardado says her approach will be exactly the same as the one that took her to such impressive performances as a teenage prospect in the ammys. This time, however, she’s here to stay.
“I think the mentality just has to be to dominate and win, which is my mentality for all of my fights,” she said. “I might change a few things depending on who I’m fighting, but as far as (my) mentality for the tournament, it’s literally just to dominate and leave no questions.
“This is just the start. This is the beginning of a brutal and beautiful career that’s about to happen. People will definitely be knowing who I am, where I’m at and everything. So it’ll be cool. It’s a good time.”
A PGA Tour event exemption is up for grabs as 10 programs square off in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Golfweek will livestream final-round coverage March 3 as part of College Golf Live’s 2020 Spring Series. Audiences can …
A PGA Tour event exemption is up for grabs as 10 programs square off in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Golfweek will livestream final-round coverage March 3 as part of College Golf Live’s 2020 Spring Series.
Audiences can tune in at Golfweek.com/SouthernHighlands2020 to view the action from Southern Highlands Golf Club, annual host of the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The field for the event, hosted by UNLV, features major golf programs from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Pac 12 conferences.
Coverage for the livestream will be provided by Ricky Barnes, Taylor Zarzour and Diane Knox.
Former winners of this event include: Stewart Cink, David Duval, David Gossett, Ryan Moore and Phil Mickelson. Other PGA Tour veterans to play include Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Patrick Rodgers and Rich Beem.
About College Golf Live
College Golf Live is dedicated to expanding media coverage of college and amateur golf by producing live telecasts of top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments. Keep up with the latest events at collegegolflive.com and follow along on Twitter and Instagram @collegegolflive.
Teams competing this year:
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Duke
SMU
Georgia
Florida
New Mexico
Southern California
UCF
TCU
As he returns to MMA on the heels of his release from prison, former UFC fighter Paul Kelly reflects on the invaluable lessons that have made him better.
Paul Kelly, a nine-fight UFC veteran, served a six-year prison sentence – four of them behind bars – after being found guilty of heroin trafficking in 2013. Now with his freedom back, the 35-year-old is set to make his return to MMA next month at Probellum Liverpool 1. He has no idea what’s in store for his fighting future. But he knows he’ll “be all right” because of the critical knowledge obtained while behind bars.
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If he could go back in time, [autotag]Paul Kelly[/autotag] wouldn’t change a thing.
According to the Liverpool, England native, he’d left a life of crime behind years prior to being sentenced to 13 years in prison for heroin trafficking – and for good reason. Kelly (14-5) took a knife to the face in a drug-related incident in the lead-up to his 2008 fight vs. Marcus Davis.
The skeletons in Kelly’s closet eventually caught up to the nine-fight UFC veteran. He accepted it – and knew it was coming. It was finally time to pay the piper.
“Sooner or later you get burned,” Kelly told MMA Junkie. “I think I always expected to get burned at some point, but I didn’t think I was going to get burned at that time. I was done with it. I was done with that life, and it came back at me, but I’m a real guy. I’ve got real expectations. You can’t bitch or moan about it. You’ve just got to get on with it. If you slap someone in the face , nd they punch you back, you can’t moan about it. You’ve just got to get on with it. … I end up coming home. I stayed home for the funeral. When I got back, I didn’t even have clothes here. I was done with this country and that whole situation.”
Kelly spent four years locked up, a trying time in maximum security prison. Kelly was trapped in his own thoughts – thoughts of his athletic career being put on hold, thoughts of not being able to be with his family, and the dastardly thoughts of “what if.”
“You literally break down life day by day,” Kelly said. “It gives you the opportunity to look at it through different eyes and a different perspective. You put your positive spin on it. It’s just jail, but you can make of it what you will. That’s what I did.”
Food for thought
Paul Kelly. (Photo courtesy of Probellum MMA)
Through the ups and downs, Kelly learned a lot about himself – and the person he wanted to become. Slowly but surely, he laid the foundation of a new-and-improved version of himself. He sought betterment. And despite being behind bars, he found it through health education and fitness.
In prison, Kelly acquired the role of “gym orderly,” which allowed fitness to become an even bigger part of his rebuild. Health education, especially pertaining to diet, wasn’t something Kelly was proficient in during his MMA career before prison. Frequently struggling with weight cuts (to often nightmarish extents), Kelly made nutrition a key focus.
“I did my education while I was away,” Kelly said. “And you know what else I did do? This has been my main drive since I’ve come out. I spent a lot of time reading Mike Dolce’s book, and he’s a good friend of mine.”
Kelly recalled two hellacious weight cuts during his UFC tenure.
“I should have never went to lightweight,” Kelly said. “If you look at my record, my only losses – and this is no (expletive) whatsoever. When I fought Matt Veach, B.J. Penn came in to talk to me. I was close friends with B.J., and he came to talk to me. When he came in to talk to me, I was standing at the scales just about to make weight. He starts talking to me, ‘Hey, Paul.’ I said, ‘Aye, B.J.’ He said, ‘Are you OK, yeah?’ I literally could not see him because my eyes were blanked out. As he leaves the room, I said to my brother and Mark Scanlon at the time, I said, ‘Is he gone?’ As soon as he said yeah, my body dropped and hit the floor. I fainted. I woke up with them pulling my tongue out of my mouth. I won that fight. I was lucky.
“When I fought – what was that prick’s name who just laid on top of me for 15 minutes? Jacob Volkmann. When I fought Jacob Volkmann, my body dried up. I remember Renzo Gracie or someone scraping me with a card. I was completely dry in the sauna. I couldn’t get more weight off. I had to say, ‘Look, I’m sorry. I’ve never done this before, but I can’t make it. I’m a pound-and-a-half over.’ We’re in the back of the arena and talking to Mark Scanlon. He said, ‘Look, son. You’ve never not made weight in your life. Let’s get in the back. We’ve got an hour. Let’s get it done.’ I put the shower on and jumped in. I made the weight. Then after that, my body shut down. I couldn’t digest the sugars. While I was sitting there eating, I started vomiting.”
‘I wouldn’t change my journey’
Paul Kelly, left, and Darren Till. (Photo courtesy of Probellum MMA)
In 2017, Kelly was put on work release (“work placement”). Healthy eating became his calling, so much so he set up a healthy eating restaurant, Healthybox, upon his release.
“I studied loads of nutrition,” Kelly said. “When I came out, I owned a little restaurant. All we serve is clean, organically grown, low-glycemic foods – all real foods that taste good. This was always the thing. When Terry Etim or Paul Taylor were cutting, they’d make weight piss-easy. They’d be eating whatever they’d like. Meanwhile, I’d be cooking a few egg whites with a bit of spinach in. The only thing I could flavor with was chili and a few macadamia nuts. My diet was that on point. It was just the way the food affects my body, so I studied loads on it.”
Kelly completed his prison sentence in 2019. He was reunited with his children, got re-married, and has another baby on the way in a new relationship. Kelly said he’s grateful to have his freedom and all the simple things that come along with it – like the ability to stand.
“I wouldn’t change my journey,” Kelly said. “It wasn’t until I went to jail – until I sat. You’ve got nothing but time to think. I sat and analyzed life. Your path, if it finds you, it gives you options. I wouldn’t take that long valuable lesson back because I’ve done it. I’ve grown from it. It’s hardened me, and that’s a good thing for me.
He continued, “It’s good just be able to stand up out here. The only time I could see my family, I was sitting down because I was mainly in high security. To be able to stand up and take my kids to the park? I don’t take them for granted now. … It gives you that appreciation for your dignity and your freedom. … I feel in a good place, and I’m happy at home. I’m in a different relationship and just had a new baby. Everyone is happy for me.”
‘Time is not on my side … I’ll be all right’
Paul Kelly. (Photo courtesy of Probellum MMA)
For the first time since 2013, Kelly is expected to compete on an MMA card, March 7 at Probellum Liverpool 1. The response has been nothing short of amazing.
“I’ve been overwhelmed because I’m a humble guy,” Kelly said. “I’m a down-to-earth guy. That’s why I did end up in the situation I was in. I’ve always been a real person. I have been genuinely overwhelmed by how much a response it’s had. People genuinely want to see me back in and having a go. They don’t just want to see me. They want to see me win. They want to see me comeback and finish the story off.”
At 35 years old, Kelly isn’t sure how his story will end. He doesn’t know which promotions he’ll fight for or what belts he might obtain. To him, the challenge lies within the theme of the past seven years: self-improvement.
“I went to jail when I was 28,” Kelly said. “In my mind, since 29, I’ve been in a freezer for seven years. Reality is I’m 35. I think it answers a lot of questions for me personally. To hold a domestic title would be nice, but as it stands I’m taking it one fight at a time. Look at the way these tickets have sold. They went on sale and in three days they sold out.
“Everyone keeps saying, ‘I’d love you to fight him, and I’d love you to fight him.’ But as it stands now, I’ve got my own fight going on with myself. Let’s get through the first challenge and see where we are with that. Then, let’s push on. I’m not going to wait around obviously. Time isn’t on my side at 35, but I feel young, and I feel strong.”
The walk to the cage at Liverpool Olympia likely will be a raucous one. Deeply embedded in the English MMA community, Kelly’s domestic fanbase is still massive.
“I think it’s going to go off its nuts,” Kelly said. “I am who I am. I got nicked for drugs, but everyone in the (expletive) city sells drugs. That’s what it’s known for. They need to air it live in this prison system. They’ve got so many channels in jail. The prison system will go off its rockers.
“I’ve done all my time and all my rounds. No one can say anything bad about me. I’m a standup guy. I’ve got loads of power. That stadium is going to erupt. It does add pressure when you’ve been out for seven years, and your first fight back is an arena in your hometown. I’ve (expletive) got all eyes on me, but it is what it is. I’ll be all right.”
The College Golf Live Spring Series concludes Tuesday, March 17, as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Fla. Audiences can tune in at 
The College Golf Live Spring Series moves to Oregon’s coastline Tuesday as Golfweek livestreams final-round coverage of the Bandon Dunes Collegiate. Audiences can tune in at 
A PGA Tour event exemption is up for grabs as 10 programs square off in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Golfweek will livestream final-round coverage March 3 as part of College Golf Live’s 2020 Spring Series.
