Countdown
By
Jamie Hale
Jamie Hale at Hook N' Shoot
with MMA athletes (left to right) Alex Biro, Ryan Farhat, and Stonnie Dennis
(MMA coach)
We arrived at Metropolis (a night club) at 6:00 p.m. The fights were
scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. The time had finally arrived—Ryan Farhat’s mixed
martial arts (MMA) debut.
Stonnie (Ryan’s skill coach and a professional MMA fighter), Ryan, and I relaxed
backstage as we waited for the fight. We were confident because we knew that we
had done everything we could to prepare for the fight. Ryan is a coach’s dream
come true because he displays a warrior’s work ethic and drive. He is an auto
mechanic who works on cars 12–14 hours per day and trains 2–3 hours per day, six
days a week. On top of all of this, he has extraordinary athletic ability. His
body awareness, quickness, and adaptability are as good as anyone’s I have ever
seen. He displays a strong confidence in himself as well. When an athlete knows
he has put in the work and done everything he can to prepare, he is usually
confident. Whether he wins or loses, he can hold his head high.
Once all the fighters and their teams were gathered backstage, the events took
place in the following order—weigh-ins, physicals, rules meeting, and fight card
line-up. We were the seventh fight on the card. In regards to our opponent, he
had already had a few fights, was very athletic, and was a good grappler.
Everyone backstage was relaxed and quiet until the show began and the music
started blaring. Once the adrenaline started pumping, some guys began hitting
the pads, jumping rope, and grappling. One even started break dancing (our
opponent). Ryan hit the mitts for a couple minutes and worked on some grappling.
As fight time edged closer, Ryan’s confidence seemed to grow. A few guys
approached me and said, “Your guy looks tough.” I agreed because he appeared
lean and muscular and possessed the stare of a stone cold killer. He displayed
cat like quickness as he hit the mitts and grappled.
The countdown ended. It was time for war. Ryan went out very aggressive,
throwing a lead right hand that missed by a hair. He drove his opponent into the
cage. They ended up on the ground with Ryan in his opponent’s guard. This is
exactly what his opponent was looking for. Ryan dropped a couple of blows (with
little effect) while they were on the ground. He wrapped up Ryan’s right arm as
he was attempting a shoulder lock.
Ryan was in danger of being submitted. He remained calm and lifted his
opponent off the ground. Ryan pushed him into the cage and threw a couple of
heavy body shots, which were very effective. These blows resulted in his
opponent turning his back and extending his body. Ryan snatched his neck, took
him to the ground, and ended the fight with a rear naked choke. The fight ended
at 92 seconds into the first round.
Backstage after the fight, Ryan’s opponent congratulated him and asked about his
conditioning program. His opponent was amazed with his quickness and power. Ryan
referred him to me in regards to questions about his conditioning regimen. I
began explaining to him specific concepts of conditioning. Next, he began to
give me detailed information concerning his training regimen. His training was
probably detrimental to his performance. He was another case of a kid with
tremendous ability being led down the wrong pathway in regards to physical
conditioning. Hopefully in the future, I will be able to work with him and steer
him in the right direction.
In the next few weeks, I will give readers an in-depth look at Ryan’s training
regimen as he prepared for his debut cage fight.
UPDATE: Since this article was written, Ryan Farhat has had over 50 MMA
fights. He has done very well with an impressive highlight film and only three
or four losses. I have mentioned his name before, and we still say he is
destined to be a world champ. He currently trains at Milletich’s place. Watch
out for this guy.
Copyright 2005 Jamie Hale
Jamie Hale is a sports conditioning coach, author, gym owner, and fitness
and nutrition consultant. He has contributed to numerous exercise and sports
publications (nationally and internationally) and has authored four books. He is
currently working on his fifth book titled, Protein Essentials: What Every
Athlete Needs to Know. Jamie is a member of the World Marital Arts Hall of Fame
in recognition of his conditioning work with martial artists. He is considered
by most in the industry as a specialist in agility and sledgehammer training and
is also known for his ability to get bodybuilders as lean and dry as bone for
competition. To learn more about Jamie, visit his website at
www.maxcondition.com or contact him by phone at (859) 737-2753. He is available
for seminars and camps as well.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.