Bader, Dolloway, and Simpson are very early into their respective UFC careers, each winning their debut on different episodes of "UFC Fight Night" and becoming attractive prospects for pay-per-view undercards. They also train together at Arizona Combat Sports in Chandler, along with UFC middleweight Thales Leites and WEC champion Jamie Varner.
The foundation for success was laid even before the UFC became a household name by another former Sun Devil. ASU and recent UFC Hall-of-Fame inductee Dan Severn, 50, once coached wrestling at Arizona State and has accumulated 70 professional MMA victories.
First stepping into the octagon in 1994, “The Beast” quickly established himself among MMA’s elite with his commitment and drive to be the best. Severn has fought all over the world, defeating such MMA legends as Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, and Oleg Taktarov.
Severn also established his own training facility and continues to train and promote the sport and help amateur fighters “cut their teeth” in a competitive arena, as well as teach officers ground techniques for self-defense.
With Severn as a mold to follow, it’s not hard to imagine any one of these former Sun Devils following his footsteps in and out of the octagon.
The ASU wrestling program will continue that tradition of strong competition and hard work once again this fall, when it once seemed they would not just a few months ago.
UPDATE: According to his Twitter page, Ryan Bader will return at UFC 104 to face Eric Schafer. Bader tore 2 ligaments in his knee in his last fight; a unanimous decision victory over Carmelo Marrero.
1 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete