For Professional Featherweight fighter Kurt Holobaugh, fighting is a part of his family. Kurt is a a single father of 3 who not only works a 9 to 5, but also owns and runs a successful Gracie affiliate gym in his home state of Louisiana. A place wh…
For Professional Featherweight fighter Kurt Holobaugh, fighting is a part of his family. Kurt is a a single father of 3 who not only works a 9 to 5, but also owns and runs a successful Gracie affiliate gym in his home state of Louisiana. A place where 2 of his 3 children are learning the art their father loves so much. On the weekends Kurt travels to different Gracie affiliates to train, teach seminars, and continue his growth as a Mixed Martial Artist. From the UFC to Russia, Kurt continues to fight the very best the world has to offer. Holobaugh steps back into the cage at Titan FC 42 in Coral Gables, FL on Decemeber 2nd against veteran Yosdenis Cedeno. Ready to show that he is at the top of his game and waiting for a call from one of the big shows.
Holobaugh decided that after his last loss in March of this year it was time for a move to Lightweight. “… Like I tell everybody, it just wasn’t fun anymore. I didn’t get to train how I wanted to train. I didn’t get to do the things that I normally would do in a fight camp because everything was about the weight cut. It started getting away from the fun of the sport. It started getting away from just training to fight. It was just so much focus on the weight cut and it was just miserable…”
With focus completely on the fight, Holobaugh is looking to start a win streak in the Lightweight division. Listen to both interviews to hear how Kurt handles all the responsibilities in his life, who he had winning at UFC 205, and how he plans on winning come December 2nd.
(Before GSP and Carlos Condit, KJ Noons was by far the biggest pain in Nick Diaz’s ass. Photo via Esther Lin/Strikeforce)
Remember when Jorge Gurgel made the ominous claim that the losers at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine would be out of a job? It’s starting to look like that rule maybe just applied to Jorge Gurgel. (Sorry, bro.) According to reports that have been coming out since the show, a couple of prelim fighters who fell short in their matches will soon be picked up by the UFC.
First up is KJ Noons, who lost to Ryan Couture in a decision so questionable that Dana White wondered if the coin-flip method would be more effective. It was Noons’s fourth loss in his last five outings — dating back to his rematch loss to Nick Diaz in October 2010 — but the UFC is giving the tough lightweight striker a chance to prove himself in the Octagon. As Noons told MMAJunkie yesterday, “They said, ‘Heal up, and as soon as you’re healed up, then start training, and we’ll get you on a card.”
For Noons, a potential move to the UFC would represent a massive improvement to his career, and not just because of the increased visibility:
(Before GSP and Carlos Condit, KJ Noons was by far the biggest pain in Nick Diaz’s ass. Photo via Esther Lin/Strikeforce)
Remember when Jorge Gurgel made the ominous claim that the losers at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine would be out of a job? It’s starting to look like that rule maybe just applied to Jorge Gurgel. (Sorry, bro.) According to reports that have been coming out since the show, a couple of prelim fighters who fell short in their matches will soon be picked up by the UFC.
First up is KJ Noons, who lost to Ryan Couture in a decision so questionable that Dana White wondered if the coin-flip method would be more effective. It was Noons’s fourth loss in his last five outings — dating back to his rematch loss to Nick Diaz in October 2010 — but the UFC is giving the tough lightweight striker a chance to prove himself in the Octagon. As Noons told MMAJunkie yesterday, ”They said, ‘Heal up, and as soon as you’re healed up, then start training, and we’ll get you on a card.”
For Noons, a potential move to the UFC would represent a massive improvement to his career, and not just because of the increased visibility:
“My last paycheck was a little bit under $40,000 a year ago. So now I made $40,000 last year. After taxes, and you have to pay your team, now I’ve got $30,000. Now I have to catch up on all my bills before my last fight. So there goes another $5,000 or $10,000. Now I have to live for a whole year off of $20,000? That was the real frustrating thing about Strikeforce. It’s like, ‘OK, you’re going to get a fight. (And then) no, it’s canceled.’ (It was like that) the whole year. The thing about the UFC is they are going to get you three fights a year.”
Next up on the UFC pick-up list is 24-year-old middleweight Anthony Smith, who put in an impressive showing against Roger Gracie before succumbing to a second-round arm-triangle choke. As TheMMACorner reports:
The MMA Corner has since confirmed with the fighter that he is indeed headed to the UFC. Smith stated that UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby came by the locker room following Smith’s fight and told him to get in touch with Shelby’s fellow UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva. Smith expects to have a contract to sign by the end of the week.
Despite a less-than-impressive record of 17-9, Smith has scored victories over Logan Clark, Eric Schambari, and Lumumba Sayers, and he has never gone to decision in 26 professional fights. Like Damarques Johnson and James Irvin before him, Smith hasn’t done his job unless somebody’s unconscious within the first two rounds — and there’s always a place in the UFC for guys like that.
No word yet on the fate of Nandor Guelmino, but you probably shouldn’t get your hopes up.
Update: Kurt Holobaugh — who came in on short notice and lost a unanimous decision to Pat Healy during the “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” prelims — has also signed a UFC deal, according to an MMAJunkie report.
A little about Kurt: He’s compiled a perfect 8-0 professional record, competing against regional talent in such regionally-named promotions as Karnival Karnage and Nightmare On The Northshore. He is best known for taking a fight on his wedding day and almost being selected for TUF 15. The fight with Healy will be the biggest opportunity of his career. Unfortunately, the booking officially drags Healy down to the Showtime Extreme portion of the “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card.
A little about Kurt: He’s compiled a perfect 8-0 professional record, competing against regional talent in such regionally-named promotions as Karnival Karnage and Nightmare On The Northshore. He is best known for taking a fight on his wedding day and almost being selected for TUF 15. The fight with Healy will be the biggest opportunity of his career. Unfortunately, the booking officially drags Healy down to the Showtime Extreme portion of the “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card.
The only thing Healy is getting out of this is a much-needed paycheck. But the potential downside — suffering an upset loss to an unheralded up-and-comer on the prelims of a dying promotion — could cost Healy his ticket to the UFC. I’m not saying that’s likely to happen, and I really hope it doesn’t, because the man has suffered enough. But just the possibility of such a scenario should make Healy think twice about going through with this fight. It’s not exactly “lose-lose,” but there’s not a whole lot of “win” to be found.
So yes, maybe Pat comes down with a last-minute knee injury and has to withdraw from the fight. You might roll your eyes when it happens. But hell, we’d understand.
