For a veteran MMA athlete, it is a fact that it is always important to step up and always show up in every game with a 100% determination to win because there is no stopping young and fresh athletes to join the industry and push veterans behind the line. Although there are times that the newbies will be beaten up by the seniors in the industry, like for example in the mixed martial arts world, more often than not, senior fighters are not quick and strong enough to win over the young bloods.
This Friday at Bellator 140, Rudy “Bad News” Bears, a veteran mixed martial arts fighter, is looking into going up against the up-and-coming fighter Michael Page. Bears knows that there is a possibility that he will lose the fight, as what most people are expecting, but he is determined to step up his game and win the bout. He is seeing this fight as an opportunity to improve his record and be the gatekeeper to Page’s journey going up the success ladder.
In a recent interview, Bears admitted that going against Page will not be a walk in the park. Although he knows that his record is not that pretty, he said that he has prepared and trained hard for this fight. He is confident that he is in great shape and he will be putting his best foot forward in the fight. Furthermore, he admitted that he does not care what people say or think of him. In the interview, he said, “I know I don’t have a super winning record, but I don’t find it as an insult. They can call me a gatekeeper. Whatever. I don’t care.”.
Bears always gives his 100% in each of his fight, however, this effort did not translate well in his fights. Based on the record, his losses are almost the same as the number of times he won. There was a time around 2009 to 2013 where out of fifteen bouts, he was only able to win five of them. Bears was not always at the bottom though. When he started his career, he started of having 10-3, but things did not go so well anymore after losing to UFC veteran Tyron Woodley. He went up against top fighters who also had the chance to fight in the UFC like Paul Daley, Ryan Jensen, Jason High and Zak Cummings. For a time, Bears was going from one organization to the other, including Titan FC and Bellator. When asked about his losses in the past, Bears admitted his efforts simply were not enough for him to win.
This time around, Bears believes that things will become better for him. Just recently, Bears even won two straight MMA competitions and he said that he is feeling better now more than he had in the past. He associated this sense of fulfillment with his decision to take a rest for a year and figured out what he actually needed in order to get better at his sport.
Page might have to be prepared on what Bears can show in the upcoming fight. With Bears getting all fresh, prepared and ready, Page might need to step up to be able to beat his gatekeeper.