A Quote by Jake Hager
The level of difficulty in most areas of MMA is very high. It's a high learning curve. The footwork in boxing alone takes years to master. I will rely heavily on my amateur wrestling to get out of bad situations and take me from defense to offense. I'll try to dictate the fight on my terms.
Related Quotes
When it comes to wrestling, judo and boxing they are at a good level. They can compete in an international level. On the amateur level it is extremely high. Transitioning to MMA for them would be easy. I think we will see a lot more Cubans in MMA as it gets easier for them to complete.
I grew up in one of the most prolific high-school-wrestling programs in the country, and MMA fighters are more successful when they have that amateur-wrestling background.
There's a reason why MMA is only three five-minute rounds, or five fives when it's a title fight. MMA is so much more demanding on the body - the wrestling, the changing levels, all that takes a lot out of you. Boxing is a breeze for us after MMA.
I physically feel very fit. I’m very motivated to keep on playing on a very high level. I’m going to try to use these years in front of me to fight for the number one of the world and fight for the biggest titles.
A lot of coaches in MMA focus on MMA wrestling. My coach, his high school team is ranked 10th in the nation. Izzy Martinez is very connected to the wrestling community.
While wrestling in college as a junior, it came to a point where wrestling just wasn't enough for me anymore. I love wrestling, but I felt like I was missing something, and so the striking part about MMA, the boxing and kickboxing, was what got me really interested in MMA.
MMA is not jiu-jitsu. MMA is not boxing. MMA is not wrestling. It's a different kind of style of punching and wrestling and grappling on the ground.
In my first fight, I acknowledged it. I'm a professional wrestler, this is who I am, who you know me as. But guess what, I've also been wrestling since I was 5 years old - real wrestling - amateur wrestling, Olympic wrestling.
A Division I college wrestling team has so many guys at such a high level it'd be like having every single guy in the gym being a top 10 UFC guy, and that's who you're competing against every single day. Most everyone has been wrestling since they were 5 years old. It's been their dream to wrestle in college. There's such a high level of intensity.
I was probably just graduating high school, maybe still in high school. When I was still in high school, maybe the last two years, I was rapping but I wasn't telling anybody. When I signed my deal people didn't know it was the same Ryan Montgomery from Oak Park High School, because I used to play basketball and I used to fight. Like I'd bring boxing gloves to school. So when they found out, it was, "You mean Ryan who be boxing?" or, "Ryan who be hopping up at the park?" So I was known as that guy.
If you look at MMA, you don't have an amateur MMA. You have some of these young men like James Kirkland who had 140 amateur fights, I had 3. My skill level was I was just powerful as hell, I didn't know how to actually box in the beginning. I was just punching them, the skill level wasn't there. You will have one or two females that are really skillful, but who are they gonna box to get better. MMA is just more exciting because you kick and throw people on the ground and whatever. But people tuned into a fighter like me because I put people to sleep.
I started doing MMA and boxing at the same time - I always wanted to try an MMA fight to see what it was like. I had one fight, and I was hooked.
While wrestling in college as a junior it came to a point where wrestling just wasn't enough for me anymore. I love wrestling, but I felt like I was missing something, and so the striking part about MMA, the boxing and kickboxing, was what got me really interested in MMA. I saw it on TV and I just knew that I wanted to do it.
Back when the UFC first started, I wanted to see what MMA was all about; at the time, I was training with Tank Abbott, and so I went to see him fight. While at the fight, I saw this guy fighting that I just crushed in high school wrestling, and I thought, 'Hey, I'm a street fighter, and I have a wrestling background,' so I gave it a shot.
I had 33 kickboxing fights, 37 MMA fights, plus 44 amateur boxing fights, which most of them were international. I will keep fighting as long as I feel good, but I will repeat once more, any fight could be the last one.
I've always found boxing to be an incredibly pure sport. The level of character of most fighters I find very high. And it's just the best workout you can get.
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