When he learned he’d be fighting Rick Story at UFC 167, one of Brian Ebersole’s first thoughts wasn’t so much Story himself as it was one of Story’s prior victims. The old opponent drew Ebersole’s attention because he was, like Ebersole, left-handed and came from a wrestling background. The opponent’s name was Johny Hendricks.
“For him to have beaten another southpaw wrestler, it made me want to study his film,” Ebersole said of Story, who he’ll face this Saturday at UFC 167.
That’s Brian Ebersole for you: The guy likes to be one step ahead. And when the people’s journeyman welterweight returns to action this weekend after more than a year out of the limelight, he’ll do it with his bag of tricks—and some pretty interesting ideas—at the ready.
But first things first: getting back in the eight-sided cage, where we last saw Ebersole in July 2012. As such, it’s definitely OK to call it a comeback. Ebersole chalks up the absence to an injury he declines to identify (he has previously suffered serious knee injuries, but says that wasn’t the culprit this time). Adding extra intrigue to the mix is the fact that the departure came on the heels of his first defeat in the UFC, a split-decision loss to James Head at UFC 149. The setback put him at 4-1 in the UFC.
However, that tenure, if you didn’t know, only accounts for 13 percent of his career. Ebersole is a pretty well-traveled guy; the Illinois boy is 50-15-1-1 as a pro and splits his time among Australia, Thailand and the United States, among other places.
So it all kind of begs the question: Where you been, man?
“It’s been a working year,” Ebserole said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I did a lot more yoga and pilates than I ever had before. I’ve really been resting my body. But I coached at Tiger Muay Thai [a renowned Phuket, Thailand gym]. I saw my family a little, which was nice.”
The 32-year-old Ebersole now seems ready to, as he put it, “reboot” his career. And in the case of Brian Ebersole, that means a reinvention as much as it does a resetting, and it means outside the cage as much as inside. One case in point is Fund a Fighter, an online service with which Ebersole is involved. Fund a Fighter allows fans to donate money directly to fighters for training camps, medical procedures and other things. In return, fighters can send back notes, memorabilia and other items as a token of gratitude. Think Kickstarter for MMA fighters.
“This is about connecting directly with the fan,” Ebersole said of Fund a Fighter. “It’s not a dealer putting a signed glove in a frame. It helps a fighter use their likeness, and you get a little bit of profit from it.”
The UFC, as you may know, is rather, eh, mindful of the various manners in which fighters use their likenesses. You might even say that language to that effect is hardwired into the standard fighter contract (it is).
Has Ebersole, by any chance, heard anything from the UFC on this?
“The UFC hasn’t reacted yet, and I’m waiting with baited breath,” Ebersole said. “We’ll see.”
On top of the likeness thing, there’s also the question of revenue, long a sticky wicket for the UFC, its fighters and just about anyone who closely follows the sport. Was Ebersole’s motivation to engage with Fund a Fighter related to a desire to find a new revenue stream? Though Ebersole was quick to point out that “the UFC has been very good to me,” he pointed out almost as quickly that extra money is a good thing.
“It’s a need,” Ebersole said. “I’ve spent $23,000 on this camp. I’ve been here in Vegas for a month, and I’m spending $100 on each private lesson because my network isn’t here. It’s been a costly camp.”
Ebersole is clearly enthusiastic about the Fund a Fighter concept. As he waits for the other shoe to drop on that, he still has Rick Story to worry about. Apparently, that tape he’s been watching—motivated in part by Story’s 2010 unanimous decision win over Hendricks, who challenges welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167—paid some dividends.
“I think I have a handle on the beast that is Rick Story,” Ebersole said. “There are a few things he does over and over. I will have to dictate my own fight, which is tough because he pushes forward so much. It will be a grind, especially since we’re both pretty decent at wrestling.”
The grind may be especially challenging given that Ebersole is not the largest of welterweights. Before his layoff, Ebersole spoke openly of a desire to move down to lightweight. As he returns, that idea is still very much on the table.
“I would still like to move down to lightweight,” Ebersole said. “During my year off, I was up to 210 [pounds] at one point, so I felt a need to solidify the fact that I’m healthy and that I’m still at the top of my game before adding anything extra. I didn’t want to do any big diets on top of everything else.”
But the biggest idea Ebersole will bring with him Saturday? Well, that goes without saying. Ebersole and what one can only assume is a small army of stylists work with Ebersole’s body fuzz the way Picasso worked in oils, or some such. His signature manscape is the Hairrow, which, if you aren’t aware, is, well, exactly what you think it is.
Never a dull moment is probably a fair way to characterize this. And will the Hairrow return? Inquiring minds need to know.
“The Hairrow is the default, but sometimes inspiration strikes,” Ebersole said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com