Two weekends ago, UFC legend Don Frye fought for Gladiator Challenge at an event known as “Mega Stars.”
The bout marked Frye’s return to active competition after two years away from the cage, and the 20-8-1 (1 NC) legend wanted to prove he hadn’t lost a step despite having lost to current UFC heavyweight Dave Herman in the first minute of a September 2009 bout under the Shark Fights banner.
Frye’s opponent? Ruben “Warpath” Villarreal.
Yeah, the same Ruben “Warpath” Villarreal that had 19 wins, 22 losses and three draws on his pro record before he fought Frye.
The same Villarreal suffered his first pro loss to Dan Severn and just needed a win to at least keep himself on something of a winning track, but early on in the bout, it seemed like Villarreal would not get that win over Frye.
Seriously speaking, Frye looked at least decent enough to say he was fighting a smart fight while giving Villarreal a rather difficult battle against the cage.
Watching the fight, one can see although Frye was gassing a little bit, he way also landing heavy shots to the body that were doing damage.
Give credit where it’s due for Frye, because he clearly didn’t bank on his legendary mustache, throwing a vicious hook before Frye physically threw an actual punch.
Frye knew what he had to do to wear Villarreal out, and he actively looked to implement it earlier in the fight, but Villarreal did mount a comeback in a bout that lasted a minute-and-a-half longer than Frye’s bout with Herman.
What does the win mean for Villarreal?
Simple: It means Villarreal wins a bout after a five-fight losing streak which includes a loss to Brett Rogers.
There’s nothing to look deeply into when it comes to this win.
Mind you, nobody ever is “done” with MMA, but if Frye was done with active MMA competition after his ninth pro loss, Villarreal would be the guy that we’d either blame or thank for that.
Still, would you buy a now-20-23-3 fighter coming into the UFC with this?
I buy Kenny Florian as UFC bantamweight champion in 2013 before I argue for Villarreal being able to show the UFC heavyweight or light heavyweight division something worth fearing.
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