There are few comforts to be found competing in mixed martial arts.
The entire nature of the sport is about pushing one’s body and mind to new limits while breaking down those very attributes of your opponent inside a chain-link cage, and a fighter can use any variation of punches, knees, kicks and grappling to do that. This process is repeated in succession during the weeks leading up to the next fight in the hope that all systems will be firing at peak performance when it’s time to put everything on the line under the bright lights.
During times of preparation, the gym, and all of its coaches and training partners, becomes the crucial element that makes success possible. Elias Theodorou certainly understands this to be the case, but his personal approach to the process is unconventional on the modern landscape of MMA.
Where the majority of fighters burrow into familiar settings to develop their skills and prepare for the next challenge on their respective paths, the now-27-year-old Canadian middleweight has chosen to take a road much less traveled.
And it appears to suit him well.
Rather keeping his training bound to one location, the Ontario-based winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations has continuously traveled from camp to camp in order to keep his education as a mixed martial artist thriving. His most recent efforts took him to Rio de Janeiro, where he trained with Team Nogueira in preparation for his upcoming bout with Roger Narvaez at UFC 185.
It was a decision “The Spartan” believes will not only allow him to shine inside the Octagon in Dallas, but prove to be another validating step in his life as a nomadic student of the sport he loves.
“We have an unofficial name for our team and that’s Team Nomad,” Theodorou told Bleacher Report. “The best way to describe that is I have gyms in the general Toronto area that I use in Grants MMA and Tapout Burlington as my home gyms, but I love traveling. I love soaking up all the information I can from other mixed martial artists. One of my coaches, Lachlan Cheng, him and I both have mentality and lifestyle we are trying to achieve. We want to see the world, and mixed martial arts is our vehicle for that.
“I have the freedom in my life right now to do these things and push myself in ways some other guys can’t. I’m young and I don’t have any attachments in regards to being married or having kids, so I can make those moves. Some fighters aren’t in that life cycle, and I imagine it would be hard for those who are to leave everything behind. That being said, I don’t understand why those who do have the freedom to pick up and go wouldn’t do it.
“I’m working so hard, and it was great working with champions in the Nogueira Brothers,” he added. “For them to open their gym and welcome me to train with them was amazing. I reminded myself of that every day because on the wall, there are trophies from these guys who have such an incredible amount of experience.”
While Theodorou works with a core group of coaches, he hasn’t limited himself, chasing the knowledge that can be found in other gyms as well. His journey through MMA is one bolstered and fueled by absorbing as much information and experience as he can along the way in an effort to make sure he’s never in a comfort zone for too long.
He’s in pursuit of a unique education and one the talented Canadian is sure will pay dividends when it’s time to show and prove.
“The way I see it no gym, coach or fighter has the monopoly on talent, training or knowledge,” Theodorou said. “Everyone grows and it is as simple as that. No one wants to be the best in the gym, and that is part of why I travel around so much. I don’t ever want to be content and go in the gym every day and win. I want to lose in the gym because I never want to lose on game day. That’s a big motivation that gave me the traveling bug for mixed martial arts.
“I’ve been to gyms where people don’t like losing and they don’t want to learn. After a couple of sessions with me and if I end up getting the better of them they hate it. That narrow-minded mentality is what keeps a person as the best fighter at one gym instead of expanding their mindset.
“My whole mentality is that each fight is a test and if you study for it you will pass with flying colors,” he added. “My ability to lose every single day in the gym is reflective on game day in the sense that I’ve lost so many times when no one was around, but I’ve picked myself up and demanded that I win on the day that it really matters.”
The expansion of his fighting skills may have been the primary motivator for his journey down to Brazil, but the trip also provided an opportunity for the undefeated middleweight prospect to soak up some culture in the Southern Hemisphere. Throughout his time in Rio, Theodorou was able to see a Brazil beyond the fight experience, and it was one he found inspiring in a number of ways.
One element that highlighted his journey was getting to witness Brazil’s legendary Carnival festival firsthand, and it was an experience he won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
“Let’s just say my hips don’t lie, and I was very fortunate to catch the beginning of the festival at the tail end of my time there. It was a glorious thing,” Theodorou laughed. “All jokes aside, it’s really an amazing thing because a lot of it is the poorest parts of Brazil and they all work feverishly for the entire year toward this. It’s not their job…it’s more like a side job or hobby, or their equivalent of a choir or something to that effect.
“They basically practice and spend whatever little disposable income they have to give. And it’s such an incredible thing. The floats are amazing. The ladies there are great. Let’s just say they shake and show off their assets.”
While Theodorou had to abandon the Brazilian summer for the harsh winter of his home in the province of Ontario, those elements will be only minor details as his fight with Narvaez is just around the corner. The two up-and-coming middleweights will square off when the UFC returns to Dallas on March 15, with their tilt being featured on the pay-per-view portion of the card.
Both men are coming into their showdown at UFC 185 with recent wins under their belts, but Theodorou believes the devil is in the details of their respective wins. In regard to his opponent’s previous Octagon appearance against Luke Barnatt at Fight Night 57 back in November, Theodorou saw “Big Slow” giving the bout away more than Narvaez taking the victory.
In fact, he believes Narvaez’s entire track record reflects an unwillingness to go after success full throttle, which is a chase Theodorou invests in each and every day.
“If we are going to be really honest about the [Luke Barnatt] fight he really didn’t win that fight,” Theodorou said. “It was Luke who lost it. If you look at the fight I think it’s clear Luke screwed the pooch and gave Narvaez the opportunity to win. If you look at all of Roger’s fights you’ll also see that prior to coming to the UFC he fought a bunch of bloated welterweights. He never really tested himself, whereas I, on the other hand, have always incrementally tested myself.
“It was evident because when he got to the UFC it was the equivalent to being fed to the dogs in the sense that he was fighting an actual UFC-level fighter. And he lost to Patrick Cummins. Mind you and giving credit where credit is due, he did take that fight on short notice and it was his first time under those bright lights, but I had those same bright lights on The Ultimate Fighter and I rose to the occasion. That’s an even bigger stage with more pressure.
“If you look the fight he had before Patrick Cummins and the one he had after, Narvaez won by split-decision,” he added. “I can assure anyone reading this article I have the gas tank that doesn’t allow a split decision. I will keep going until there is nothing left in me, and there is a lot in me to give. I will not rest until I punch, kick, lift, slam and break my opponent as I always do.”
Where Narvaez is still on the lower end of the fan-recognition scale in the fight game, a win over the scrappy Texan will keep Theodorou moving in the direction he desires. Armed with an exciting fighting style and a natural charisma that makes marketing him an easy push, the surging prospect could be just another step or two from being slotted into bouts against high-profile competition.
In turn, those fights would provide an even larger showcase for his talents, and those are current goals for the Toronto-based middleweight. Every step forward is further validation that the hard work he’s invested in his fighting career is paying off.
“Every fight is a progression,” Theodorou said. “I just need to do what I always do and that is win. The more I have myself in the cage and get my hand raised, the more it develops me as a fighter and as an option for higher rankings. I’m 26 years old, and there is going to be a lot of changing of the guard up ahead. Just as there was with the vacuum of Anderson Silva losing and not being champion anymore, it made a real flux in what is actually happening in my division.
“Roger is the next step in front of me, and I have to go in there and win like I always do. My focus is completely on Roger, and I need to go in there and put on a good show and show the world I’m ready for the next thing.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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