According to this tasty photo from the folks at ESPN, Head Grappling Coach, Neil Melanson from Xtreme Couture opted to have his toe removed rather than go through surgery to straighten the toe. Melanson explains:.
According to this tasty photo from the folks at ESPN, Head Grappling Coach, Neil Melanson from Xtreme Couture opted to have his toe removed rather than go through surgery to straighten the toe. Melanson explains:
“The only thing they could try, is put screws in it to straighten it out, but that would be up to a year of downtime,” he said. “The doctor thought I was a little nuts because he was like, ‘Well, don’t you want to keep that thing?’ I just said, ‘I can’t take a year off.’ He didn’t cut through any bone. They cut into the foot at the lowest joint possible and then sow all the webbing between the toes. So, it looks like a Ninja Turtle foot or something.”
Some people are just more committed than others. Some athletes train on a schedule that would appear insane to ordinary humans. Some athletes force themselves out of bed each morning when it’s still black outside and drink a few eggs and go run a half marathon. That’s pretty dedicated. Then there’s Neil Melanson.
Melanson is a grappling coach at Xtreme Couture in Vegas; you may remember him as the guy who gave Randy Couture some sort of black belt after submitting James Toney. Melanson is not strictly a jiu jitsu guy with a clear pedigree, instead blending elements from multiple disciplines including catch wrestling and jiu jitsu. Do not misunderstand us, though: Melanson will twist and contort your body until you cry like a little girl.
Turns out that Melanson has had a bum toe for a few years, and now he doesn’t.
Neil and his jacked-up toe, in happier times.
Some people are just more committed than others. Some athletes train on a schedule that would appear insane to ordinary humans. Some athletes force themselves out of bed each morning when it’s still black outside and drink a few eggs and go run a half marathon. That’s pretty dedicated. Then there’s Neil Melanson.
Melanson is a grappling coach at Xtreme Couture in Vegas; you may remember him as the guy who gave Randy Couture some sort of black belt after submitting James Toney. Melanson is not strictly a jiu jitsu guy with a clear pedigree, instead blending elements from multiple disciplines including catch wrestling and jiu jitsu. Do not misunderstand us, though: Melanson will twist and contort your body until you cry like a little girl.
Turns out that Melanson has had a bum toe for a few years, and now he doesn’t. The second toe on his left foot has repeatedly broken while rolling around on the mats, and, according to him, it “snapped” a couple of years ago. Melanson, being a big tough guy, roughly straightened it, wrapped it, and went about his business. The toe continued to bother him, as it wandered farther and farther from the alignment that most of us expect our little piggies to have, and finally it began to bother Melanson enough that he was willing to let a medical doctor person take a look at it.
The doc’s medical opinion went something like this: “The toe is all cattywampus, arthritic, and it’s going to be tough to fix. We’ll break it, glue it, and screw it and hopefully you’ll be back on the mats in a year.”
Melanson’s response went something like this: “Cut me, Mick.”
Yup, Neil Melanson had his toe amputated, because he doesn’t want to take a year off waiting for some slacker toe to heal, when the damn thing never seemed to have the heart for the long haul in the first place.
Melanson is recovering from the loss of his toe now, and reportedly in good spirits. And when we say “loss of his toe”, we refer to the fact that Neil and the boys wanted to keep it, but the doctors wouldn’t let him. Pansy liberal doctors probably didn’t want to cut the damn thing off in the first place.
We leave you with the following photographic evidence of Melanson’s mutilation, and a quote: “It’s really not a big deal to me. It’s just a toe. I guess when you love the sport and you’re committed to it, you don’t let little things like toes get in the way.”
Today we caught up with Ryan Couture during his training session with Neil Melanson at Xtreme Couture for his upcoming Strikeforce Challengers 16 tilt with Matt Ricehouse. Ryan discusses his thoughts on the infamous Lyoto Machida kick that retired Randy Couture from his MMA career and knocked a few fake teeth out. Ryan also gives […]
Today we caught up with Ryan Couture during his training session with Neil Melanson at Xtreme Couture for his upcoming Strikeforce Challengers 16 tilt with Matt Ricehouse. Ryan discusses his thoughts on the infamous Lyoto Machida kick that retired Randy Couture from his MMA career and knocked a few fake teeth out. Ryan also gives his input on Zuffa’s new health insurance offer for fighters and the social media incentives. Watch the full interview below.
(Video courtesy HDNet)
When Karo Parisyan’s former student and training partner Neil Melanson came forward in the wake of "The Heat" pulling out of his UFC 106 fight with Dustin Hazelett and his subsequent public firing by UFC president Dana …
(Video courtesy HDNet)
When Karo Parisyan’s former student and training partner Neil Melanson came forward in the wake of "The Heat" pulling out of his UFC 106 fight with Dustin Hazelett and his subsequent public firing by UFC president Dana White to "reveal" that the Armenian fighter was addicted to pain killers, I couldn’t help but think, "How could a guy who called himself a friend do that to one of his pals?"
Looking at the situation objectively, nobody had ever really heard of Melanson and the interview he did outing Karo got his name in everyone’s mouths, but really didn’t help Parisyan’s so-called problem. If anything, it just gave the already in-motion rumor mill more steam.
Well, according to Parisyan, Melanson’s version of events is a bout as legit as the no-gi grappling black belt he awarded Randy Couture after he tapped out James Toney.
Neil Melanson Comments on Chael Sonnen’s Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs
The man who trained Chael Sonnen for his Anderson Silva fight–Neil Melanson–gave us some really good insight into the latest positive PEDs test to rock the sport.
Melanson noted that positive tests in MMA ususally occur in California, and that Sonnen told him it was “B.S.” […]
The man who trained Chael Sonnen for his Anderson Silva fight–Neil Melanson–gave us some really good insight into the latest positive PEDs test to rock the sport.
Melanson noted that positive tests in MMA ususally occur in California, and that Sonnen told him it was “B.S.” that he used PEDs.
Watch the full interview above for Melanson’s thoughts on Sonnen, the legitimacy of Mixed Martial Arts in light of PEDs scandals, and what fair punishment for using PEDs should be.
