Press Release – January 25, 2013 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA): Roufusport, one of the top fight teams in MMA today, is proud to announce that well-known motivational speaker Eric Thomas will be backstage with Roufusport fighters Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Erik “New Breed” Koch, and Pascal “Panzer” Krauss at UFC on FOX 6 this Saturday in Chicago. Thomas recently came to the Roufusport gym and gave an exciting motivational speech to its athletes.
Citing Wisconsin legend Vince Lombardi, Thomas’ talk on the importance of outworking the competition and the power of mental toughness was entitled “The Harder You Work, the Harder it is to Surrender,” and helped “Showtime” and his teammates take their motivation to the next level. Here’s a link to Thomas’ rousing speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlko9VyOJ98
“Eric is a huge influence in my life, and has been a daily motivation to me. I thought it would be great to bring him in to speak to our guys, and he did a great job,” explained Roufusport Head Coach Duke Roufus. “Eric was so excited to work with our athletes that he decided to come in of his own accord and speak to our guys on the day of their fights. So he’ll be backstage with them, getting them mentally ready to put on the best show they can. It’s going to be awesome.”
Eric Thomas was introduced to the world through a YouTube video featuring his famous “As Bad As You Want To Breathe” speech that went viral, reaching over 20 million views. He is an in-demand speaker, educator, author, activist, and minister, and has carved out a reputation as a dynamic motivator, having been invited to speak to dozens of NBC, NFL, and MLB athletes across North America. Formerly a high school dropout, he obtained his Master’s degree in 2005, and is pursuing his PhD. He promotes the benefits of higher education and overcoming personal shortcomings to reach new levels of personal achievement.
Roufusport product Anthony “Showtime” Pettis takes on Donald Cerrone on the televised portion of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 6 event in Chicago. A likely UFC lightweight title shot lays in the balance. Also on the main card, Erik “New Breed” Koch battles Ricardo Lamas for featherweight supremacy, as they jockey for position for a crack at the belt. And, Pascal Krauss will look to take down Mike Stumpf in a welterweight scrap.
With so much on the line, these Roufusport warriors will take their extra motivation from Thomas’ interaction with them into the Octagon with them Saturday night!
For more information on Roufusport, please visit http://roufusport.com. You can also find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/roufusport and on Twitter @RoufusportMMA.
About Roufusport
Roufusport is run by famed kickboxer and MMA trainer Duke Roufus and his business partners Scott Joffe and Anthony Pettis. It is a world class brand that includes a state-of-the-art training facility, fight team, and MMA promotion, the North American Fighting Championship.
Duke Roufus is one of the most recognizable MMA and striking coaches in North America, and is considered to be one of the top trainers of Muay Thai kickboxing outside of Thailand. Roufus also runs the Roufusport Fight Club team, which includes UFC stars Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Alan “The Talent” Belcher, Erik “New Breed” Koch, Chico “King” Camus, and Germany’s Pascal “Panzer” Krauss, in addition to Olympic wrestler and Bellator Fighting Championship Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren.
Former students include former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, The Ultimate Fighter season one star Stephan Bonnar, and UFC veterans Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell, and Jesse Lennox.