Robert Drysdale wins pro MMA debut

Robert Drysdale -- the 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Open Weight tournament winner -- made his long-awaited professional mixed martial arts debut last night (July 17) at Armageddon Fighting Championships (AFC) 3, submitting Bastien Huveneers via submission (side choke) early in the first round.

Drysdale, who terrorized the international jiu-jitsu circuit for about a decade, winning medals and finishing some of the best in the business (see Garcia, Marcelo among others), served as an assistant coach for Frank Mir on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

Ariel Helwani interviewed Drysdale before the fight about his future plans:

How often are you going to be looking to fight?
I have a four-fight deal with AFC. I think they have three shows a year, and that's what I want to stick to. So maybe a show by the end of this year, another fight, and then another two fights next year, and then hopefully I will jump in the big shows.

Are you exclusive to AFC?
It's exclusive for Canada, unless it's the UFC. So I can't fight for any other Canadian organization.

So you could fight for anyone else in the US?
Yes, I can fight in the States [for anyone else]. If I wanted to go to Strikeforce or the UFC, then that would be OK.

Have you ever talked to Strikeforce or the UFC about fighting for them?
Yes, I have spoken to them before, and it's open. I would actually very much like to fight for them, and I even have in mind who I would like to fight.

Who would that be?
Roger Gracie.

Bloodyelbow.com

Was this at LHW? I would love to see Gracie, Ribeiro and Drysdale all enter some kind of an MMA tournament.

yawn.

Oh wow! I almost shat my pants...

Wolf is so biased

Wolfgangsta wrote:

yawn.

And it was no big deal when Jacare, Maia or Werdum entered MMA.

I'm not sure if it's a yawn moment. But he's got to be about 30 now, right? Does anyone know if he can strike at all?

who cares. His bjj is the best in the world, hes proven that so anyone who tries to take a swipe at him for that just obviously doesn't know shit. If he pulls guard on anyone who isn't a legit black belt is pretty much fucked. I mean he still taps all the best black belts in bjj on the regular, but at least they would have a chance on the ground to survive.... maybe.

Just one of those pro mma debut things. Normally a debut is against another fellow of marginal or beginner talent. Bastien Huveneers had several fights worth of experience though, that is good to see. It will be more interesting when he starts getting more established dudes to fight.

He will never be a serious factor in any weight class.

lol! wolf knows all...

Drysdale calling out Gracie has to be music to Coker's ears.

i love it, wolf calls me a troll for questioning Ron Sparx but the best bjj guy to enter mma in a long time will suck and never be a factor in any weight class. Classic!

Drysdale>Roger Gracie

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

Drysdale>Roger Gracie

Maybe, hopefully we can see it play out in the cage.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

Drysdale>Roger Gracie

Not when they compete against one another.

Primetyme199 wrote:

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

Drysdale>Roger Gracie

Not when they compete against one another.

what's the head to head?

Quote :

i love it, wolf calls me a troll for questioning Ron Sparx but the best bjj guy to enter mma in a long time will suck and never be a factor in any weight class. Classic!

The key difference is you were flying off the handle to show how horrible Strikeforce's match making is and were accusing them of a giant conspiracy to make Lashley and Cyborg face nobodies. My reaction had more to do with you jumping to idiotic conclusions when you had zero background on either Sparks, who indeed was a highly touted prospect, or the Erin Toughill situation. I was hardly the only one to bust your chops for that assbabble anyway. It's one thing to be stupid and wrong, but quite another to be bitter about being called out for it. Why would you even bring that dumb shit up? Bitter much?

It is rare to see a career grappler like Drysdale convert over to MMA and have success later into their career. People keep bringing up Jacare and Werdum, but they've been fighting for 7 or 8 years and started fighting in their early to mid twenties. Drysdale is only now starting and by the time he has enough experience and skills he will be approaching his late 30s, and only if he takes MMA seriously and not as a side hobby.

I don't think he will ever be a real factor, and my belief of that is in no way comparable to you accusing a promotion of a bunch of stupid shit because you haven't a clue what in the flying fuck you're talking about oggy.

At least 3-0 Gracie I believe.

]

Primetyme199 wrote:

At least 3-0 Gracie I believe.

]

so in otherwords: Gracie>>>Drysdale.

Sorry Sooners.

Primetyme199 wrote:

That sweep was amazing!

captain organic wrote:

Primetyme199 wrote:

At least 3-0 Gracie I believe.

]

so in otherwords: Gracie>>>Drysdale.

Sorry Sooners.

And what a display of Jiu Jitsu.