Back in 2001 at just 17 years old, Pat Healy jumped into MMA without much guidance and zero fear. He'd fight anyone, anywhere and at any time. The result is an odd looking 26-17 career record. But don't be fooled by the less than stellar numbers, Healy, now 28, is still an emerging prospect especially since he dropped from 170 to 155 pounds.
Healy gets to showcase his skills at the Strikeforce Challenger 18 card (Showtime 11 p.m. ET/PT) tonight in Las Vegas at the Palms Casino Resort.
He's a massive lightweight who's given several Strikeforce opponents a rough go down at 155.
Lyle Beerbohm learned the lesson the hard way. Beerbohm, entered the Feb. 2011 match with an unbeaten mark, but was dominated and handed his first loss by Healy. Before that, Healy gave former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson all he could handle.
Healy says records can be very misleading.
"He really had fought a lot of opponents and guys from his local area," Healy told the Las Vegas Sun. "He didn't get out and fight other guys. Records can be really misleading. I think it's the same case with mine."
Healy's losses include UFC veteran middleweights Denis Kang, Chris Leben and lower weight fighters Dave Strasser, Carlo Prater, Jay Hieron, Chris Wilson, Rory Markham, Jake Ellenberger, Chris Lytle, and Brad Blackburn (two times). He's also posted wins over Paul Daley, Carlos Condit, Dan Hardy, Tiki Ghosn, Brandon Melendez, Mike Guymon and Ryan Ford.
Healy is 6-2 at lightweight and points to his desire to train all over the country as a big reason. He started with Team Quest (Randy Couture, Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen) in Oregon, but has since bounced around to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and B.J. Penn's camp in Hawaii.
"A lot of guys are too worried that they might have to fight someone they train with in the future or that they'll know too much about them," Healy said. "I don't really worry about that. I think whenever you go somewhere with different guys, you learn a lot. That outweighs the negatives."
Tonight, he'll try to put together a rare two-fight win streak against Eric Wisely (18-5). Wisely is making his Strikeforce debut. He comes in riding a four-fight win streak with victories over Matt Veach and Hermes Franca.
Strikeforce Challengers 18 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
MAIN CARD
Jorge Gurgel (154) vs. Joe Duarte (155)
Nate James (185) vs. Danillo Villefort (186)
Pat Healy (155) vs. Eric Wisely (156)
Sarah D'Alelio (146) vs. Ronda Rousey (146)
Roy Jones Jr. (204) vs. Derrick Mehmen (205)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Keith Berry (204) vs. Gian Villante (205)
Nah-Shon Burrell (171)* vs. Lukasz Les (169)
Mike Bronzoulis (169) vs. Chad Leonhardt (171)
Sterling Ford (156) vs. Milton Vieira (155)
Kite surfing Paragliding Parkour Rock climbing Roller skating
No comments:
Post a Comment