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| The HardCore Gym Joins with Roberto Traven BJJ |
date posted: November 13, 2008 |
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About two or so years ago Rory started training with Roberto Traven on a private basis. Roberto had recently left Alliance and was finally available for training. Rory was preparing for a fight and who better to help with his jits then the best 200 pound grappler in Atlanta (and one of the best in the world). What started as paid weekly privates for a month or two quickly became a mutually beneficial relationship. As his jits improved, Rory and Roberto began rolling more and more. At that point the two became training partners and Rory’s jiu jits continued to get better under his tutelage.
Not long after that a group of professional fighters in the Atlanta area started training at Roan “Jucão” Carneiro’s place. Outside of ATT it was probably one of the best gatherings of talent in the Southeast. That training group moved to Unit 2 and continues to train together three days a week. The HardCore Gym fighters travel to Unit 2 (Roberto Traven’s gym) every Tuesday to train BJJ. Roberto goes over some technique and then runs a competitive practice. It has been one of the best things to happen to our jits.
About a month or two ago Rory approached Traven about THCG representing him in Jiu Jitsu. He is a phenomenal human being and Adam and Rory felt it was the right thing to do; especially after all he has done for Rory and the other fighters training there. Rory then contacted Liborio and asked his blessing on the matter. Ricardo is a big fan of Roberto as well and thought it was a great idea. Therefore, it is with great pride that we know represent ATT in MMA and Roberto Traven in Jiu Jitsu (not unlike Jason Chambers with ATT and 10th Planet). |
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| Inside Fighting - The Hardcore Gym is producing top MMA talent |
date posted: September 12, 2008 |
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from: InsideFighting.com
By John Buhl
Virtually every mixed martial arts fan can easily spot trainers Pat Miletich or Greg Jackson in a fighter’s corner, and camps such as Xtreme Couture and American Kickboxing Academy have also established themselves as two of the sport’s top training destinations.
But another group is slowly creeping into the limelight — a smaller but formidable outfit based in Athens, Ga., headed by a pair of brothers poised to make their mark as a top-tier MMA camp. If you aren’t already familiar with The HardCore Gym, now would be a good time to study up.
The gym’s co-owners, Adam and Rory Singer, have been around one form of martial arts or another since they were kids, and have different strengths that strike an ideal balance.
Adam, the head trainer, prefers to stay behind the scenes, studying every aspect of the sport and developing the fighters.
Rory — a UFC veteran that appeared on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show — serves as the assistant head coach. He brings a fighter’s perspective to the job and a willingness to spend time promoting the gym. As a result, Adam prefers to let Rory do the talking.
“I’m more of a champion for Adam than he is,” Rory says. “It’s not his personality to want the spotlight on him, but I think my brother is one of the best coaches in MMA. He’s a true student of the game; he reads and studies everything that’s out there to research.”
About nine years ago it was simply a group of guys training together, but now The HardCore Gym has expanded into a 3,000 square foot facility, and most notably served as the launching pad for the career of UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (16-4).
Currently a group of strong up-and-comers train there, including World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight contender Brian Bowles (6-0), former WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann (6-1), The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 alum Cale Yarborough, and WEC veteran Stephen Ledbetter (6-1).
For some of the fighters that have trained at The Hardcore Gym, like Griffin and Bowles, the athletic ability and determination was obvious to see, Singer says. Nevertheless, for the most part, the Singer brothers have spent time molding and developing young prospects, lacking the name recognition and resources of the more high profile MMA gyms and trainers.
“I’m not Greg Jackson and we’re not Team Quest; we’re a smaller, grassroots operation,” Rory says. “We’ve never really had the [NCAA] Division I wrestling champions or Jiu Jitsu world champions. We’ve had some good athletes, maybe some guys with good high school wrestling backgrounds, but for the most part we’ve worked hard at developing fighters.”
However, that could be changing. Bowles is moving quickly up the WEC 135-pound division ranks, with high profile wins over Charlie Valencia, Marcos Galvao and Damacio Page. Those wins have some talking about Bowles as a possible challenger for WEC bantamweight titleholder Miguel Torres, but as impressive as Bowles has looked, the Singers know that Bowles could use more experience before facing a pound-for-pound threat like Torres.
“We’re not looking for that fight for him right now,” Rory says. “Adam’s right…Brian could probably use [a couple of] fights before that. He’s had six professional fights and a handful of amateur fights. Other than the one amateur fight he lost, he’s gone a full three rounds once, and Torres has 35 or 40 fights. There’s something to be said for that amount of experience. But, when push comes to shove, if that’s the fight the WEC wants to make then we’ll get ready for it.”
Meanwhile, Ledbetter surprised many last year in his WEC debut, losing a competitive decision to the more experienced Jeff Curran. Although Curran was the prohibitive favorite, Ledbetter more than held his own.
“Going into a fight like that, knowing your guy was probably brought in to lose, you just do what you can to get your fighter’s confidence up,” Singer says. “Curran’s got a lot of skill, definitely, but he’s not as much of a dangerous finisher, so it’s not like Stephen was going to get seriously hurt. It would be different than me trying to fight a guy like Anderson Silva.
“We knew Stephen would be bigger and a little stronger. I think [nerves] might have affected him.”
Singer also has high expectations for Stann, despite his loss to Steve Cantwell on August 3, which cost him his WEC title.
“His progress has been incredible,” Singer says. “He pretty much had to go through a media blitz last time out. We were in New York two weeks before his fight. He put a lot of pressure on himself.”
Rory believes the loss – the first of Stann’s career – could help his development.
“Losing to Cantwell was probably the best thing that could happen for him. He’d never lost before, and now that he has, he knows he doesn’t want to have that feeling anymore. Adam’s going to take over more of his training and he’s going to keep getting better.”
At this rate, before long The Hardcore Gym and the Singer brothers could be mentioned with the likes of Jackson and the Miletich.
“I certainly aspire to get to that point,” Rory says. And while they may not have the resources, having a gym right next to the University of Georgia provides plenty of other benefits. Anyone familiar with the women of the Southeastern Conference schools needs no further explanation.
“What 18, 19, 20-year-old, testosterone-filled guy wouldn’t want to come down here, live in a place that has a relatively cheap cost of living, chase some tail and learn to fight?” he says. “We don’t have the greatest facilities yet, but we’re getting good results.”
Not one to sit back and take it easy, Singer is still pushing forward with his own fighting career in addition to helping run the gym. With a 12-8 record, Singer has competed with a number of top-level fighters, including UFC veterans Wilson Gouveia, Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonald.
“I’m a coach, but first and foremost I’m a training partner,” Rory says. “Whether it’s with the UFC, WEC, EliteXC or whoever, I believe I can still compete at a high level.”
Though he feels he has plenty of fights left in him, Singer wants to stay involved with MMA after he hangs up his gloves.
“This is what I want my life to be,” he says. “Whether it’s the gym, coaching and training or something else, I very much would like to have a long-term career in the sport after I’m done fighting.”
And as effortlessly as he can handle an interview, commentating could be a possibility.
“I’d love to do something like that,” Singer says. “It was never really my goal to even make it to the UFC. To me it’s about life experiences. I want to take advantage of whatever opportunities open up.” |
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| Bowles earns submission of the night at WEC 35 |
date posted: August 15, 2008 |
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Brian Bowles made quick work of Damacio Page as he submitted Page with an amazing arm in guillotine in the first round. The slick submission earned Bowles submission of the night honors. With the victory Bowles pushed his record to a perfect 6-0. |
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| Proven: Mewborn Victorious at RFL Proving Ground |
date posted: August 15, 2008 |
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Mewborn made his RFL debut against RFL vet Heath Davis in the RFL middleweight division at Broadbent Arena in Louisville, KY last Saturday in impressive fashion as he defeated Davis by rear naked choke just three minutes in to the first round. The win moves Mewborn’s record to 5-0, 1 NC.
Mewborn proved that he is a force to be considered in the RFL title picture on a night that saw the 185 lbs title change hands in the main event. There is no doubt that Mewborn’s victory puts him in a position to challenge for the belt.
For a complete round-by-round breakdown of each fight on the Revolution Fight League’s Proving Ground card visit www.revolutionfight.com. |
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| NewsDay.com Follows Brian Stann *Video* |
date posted: July 29, 2008 |
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NewsDay.com followed WEC Lightheavyweight champion Brian Stann around for a day in New York as he prepares for his first title defense. The video concludes with a training session with HardCore gym coach Rory Singer.
Check out the video |
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| Combatwire follows Brian Stann as he trains with Rory |
date posted: July 28, 2008 |
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Wednesday my videographer, Bobby, and I followed Brian Stann around Manhattan for the day as the WEC light heavyweight champion spoke with many of the major news outlets in preparation for his August 3 bout against Steve Cantwell.
FOX news, Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine were only a few of the places that Brian went for an interview on this double-digit-hour work day. Whether it was a phone or television interview, Stann...(read more) |
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| Cale Yarbrough Fights at TUF Finale |
date posted: June 19, 2008 |
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HardCore Gym fighter Cale Yarbrough will be fighting Saturday, June 21st in The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale. He will be up against the always tough Tim Credeur. Cale won his first 2 fights of the season advancing to the the quarterfinals before being defeated by finalist CB Dollaway. Make sure to tune in to Spike TV at 9 p.m. on Saturday the 21st of June for a great night of fights. |
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| Results of RFL Relentless |
date posted: May 19, 2008 |
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| The HardCore gym went 2 and 1 this past weekend in Macon at RFL Relentless. Sam Grizzle bettered his record to 2-0 as an amateur after defeating Valdosta's Dickey Wilson in the 2nd round by rear naked choke. Payton Owens fought hard, but lost a tough bout in his amateur debut against 2-0 fighter Aaron Hall of Macon. In the main event of the evening Stephen Ledbetter made his return to the cage submitting Johnny Bedford of Ft. Worth, TX by triangle choke in the first round. This win improved Stephen's professional record to 7-1 and gave him the RFL's Featherweight (145 lb) title. Check back here for more future news and events. |
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| HardCore Gym Fighters At RFL "Relentless" in Macon |
date posted: April 24, 2008 |
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The HardCore gym is proud to announce that on Saturday, May 17th 3 of its fighters will be representing the gym at the Revolution Fight League event entitled "Relentless" in Macon, GA at the Macon Coliseum. Fighting in Amateur bouts will be Sam Grizzle and Payton Owens at 205 lbs and 155 lbs respectively. The main event of the night will be WEC vet Stephen Ledbetter fighting for the RFL 145 lb title. Go to RevolutionFight.com for more information as it becomes available. Tickets available through TicketMaster. Come on out and support these fighters on the 17th of May! |
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| April 25th at Wild Bill's |
date posted: April 16, 2008 |
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Four fighters will be representing The HardCore gym on Friday, April 25th at Wild Bill's in Duluth. Dave Mewborn makes the step down to 185 lbs and defends his unbeaten professional record. Vern Ruffner will look to stay unbeaten professionally as well in his 205 lb fight. Also, making their amateur debuts will be Keegan Boyd at 155 lbs and Kyffon Brinegar at 170 lbs. Come out to Wild Bill's on the 25th of April and support these great fighters. Tickets start at just $25. To buy them from TicketMaster CLICK HERE |
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| UFC Vet Rory Singer to Headline Friday AFL Event in Kentucky - from MMAjunkie.com |
date posted: March 5, 2008 |
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The American Fight League is promising the "greatest MMA card in Kentucky history," and the organization has booked UFC vets Rory Singer, Dan Christison, Diego Saraiva and Junior Assuncao for the event.
The show takes place Friday at the legendary Rupp Arena, home the University of Kentucky, in downtown Lexington, Ky.
Doors for "AFL: ERUPPTION" open at 7 p.m., and the event kicks off at 8 p.m. Tickets, which range from just $25-$50, are available at Ticketmaster.
Singer (11-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC), a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 3," had UFC victories over Ross Pointon and Josh Haynes before recent losses to Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonad. He takes on IFO and King of the Cage vet Chilo Gonzalez (13-10).
Saraiva (10-6-1 MMA, 0-3 UFC), who last competed for the UFC in September during a loss to Jeremy Stephens, takes on Joe Ammerman (2-0) for the AFL's lightweight title.
In addition to those two pro bouts, veteran fighter and "The Ultimate Fighter 2" competitor Christison (10-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who's also competed for the IFL and WEC, takes on eight-year veteran heavyweight John LeBlanc (1-7).
Additionally, Assuncao (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who posted a UFC victory over David Lee with losses to Kurt Pellegrino and Nate Diaz, takes on WFC fighter Steve Sharp (4-3).
Friday's full card includes:
PROFESSIONAL BOUTS
Diego Saraiva vs. Joe Ammerman (for AFL lightweight championship)
Junior Assuncao vs. Steve Sharp
Rory Singer vs. Chilo Gonzalez
Dan Christison vs. John LeBlanc
Allen Browning vs. Dustin Walden
George Lockhart vs. T.J. Cook
Rafael Assuncao vs. Aaron Williams
Doug Lima vs. Cody Senseney
AMATEUR BOUTS
Brandon Yocum vs. Brian Keller (for AFL amateur middleweight championship)
Jason Jones vs. Josh Ball
Ryan Jones vs. Mike Baskis
For more information, check out www.americanfightleague.com.
Story Courtesy of www.MMAjunkie.com |
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| The HardCore Gym Sends 3 to Wild Bill's |
date posted: January 24, 2008 |
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The HardCore Gym is proud to announce that three of its fighters will be competing at Wild Bill's Fight Night 13 on Friday, January 25th. Jeremiah Neal and Sam Grizzle will be making their amateur MMA debuts at 170 lbs and 205 lbs respectively. Also fighting will be pro heavyweight and IFL veteran Sam Halloway.
General admission tickets are still available at $25 in advance (through Ticketmaster) and $30 at the door. Come out to Wild Bill's and support our fighters. It's just off of Pleasant Hill Rd. in Duluth. |
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| Bowles stops Galvao at UFC 31, Ranked #4 in the World |
date posted: December 21, 2007 |
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Brian Bowles continued his winning ways in the WEC by stopping Marcos Galvao in the 2nd round Wednesday night at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.
Round one saw some good exchanges between Bowles and Galvao with both fighters landing some big shots. Galvao made several attempts to get the fight to the ground; however, Bowles did a great job defending the takedowns and used his wrestling skills to control the fight.
In the second round Bowles stalked down Galvao and routinely landed powerful combinations. In the end Bowles’ striking was just too much for Galvao as Bowles dropped Galvao with a vicious right hook that ended the fight.
After this spectacular win Brian has moved up to #4 in Sherdog's World Bantamweight Rankings. |
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