We are behind you Rich. My wife and i are huge fans. Thanks for standing on your faith and not being afraid to talk about it.     -mike and jennifer

    All UFC fighters share a common love of the sport they dedicate their lives to, but we are also vastly different in how we think and behave in our day-to-day lives. One big, common denominator regarding most professional fighters is that they will try to avoid a street fight. 

    When some people know what you do for a living, they enjoy baiting you into a fight. For me to get involved in a battle outside the octagon, it would have to be a matter of fearing for my personal safety or that of a family member. All my years of fighting are no match against a bullet or blade.

    Getting into a fight, because of a stream of insults and obscenities directed at me, would be significantly stupid on my part. No matter what explanation I later offered to the police, I’d be on the hook.

    I always tell my friends that if were forced into a fight, I’d probably just hold the guy down and give him a few noogies.

    Many fans would like to know if there are any emerging trends in the art and science of mma. They’ve heard that a certain fighting style is best – only to later to be replaced with another combat system that is touted as superior. No wonder there’s confusion.

    The day of mma trends is over. The future of this sport is now with the true mixed martial artists, those who blend styles so seamlessly that it is often difficult to pigeonhole them as being expert in one or two areas.

    There are 3 aspects to fighting – striking, takedowns and groundwork. Fans love to argue which is the best fight style, but what is all comes down to is simply this: effectiveness in the octagon. It doesn’t matter what style of takedown you use – judo, Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle or whatever. The same view holds for groundwork.

I just wanted to say thanks to Rich.  I am a teacher and a coach at a high school in Oklahoma and I try to instill his hard work ethics as well as his sportsmanship into not only myself but for my athletes as well.  I appreciate the way he conducts himself with class both inside and outside of the octagon.  I think he is an excellent role model and a great person to look up to.  I always like watching him fight and look forward to his rounds to come.  Just a little footnote I thought Rich won the fight against Dan and would love to see a rematch.  Good luck and thanks again.

Kyle

Claremore Oklahoma

I went to the Doctor yesterday to have my eye looked at.  Since my fight, I have had 3 opthamalogical eye exams.  Due to the scar tissue developing on my eye, my opthamalogist had to refer me to an ocular specialist.  First the specialist used numbing drops in my eye, followed by several lidocane injections in the eyeball socket.  I believe he gave me one injection in the eyeball as well.  A scalpel was used to cut the scar tissue growth from my eyeball.  I also have a scar band attaching itself to the corner of my eye where the eyelid meets the cheek. Another injection (some type of cortisone) was administered to the scar band to reduce the swelling.  Finally, the doctor cauterized the eyeball to stop the bleeding.

Although this sounds very painful, the worst part of the entire procedure was the first two injections of the series to numb the eye.  I felt a slight pinch, and all was smooth sailing from that point on.  However, it is very scary to watch a doctor stick a needle and a cauterizing gun in and on your eyeball.

-Rich

Hi Rich and Beth!
 
When I read this title, I pictured the guy at the gym with the huge chest and arms and the pencil thin legs.  I think there’s one of those at every gym!  
 
I just wanted to take a minute and tell you how much I enjoy these Hit+Run emails.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge with your fans.  Fighters like you are what make this such a great sport!  
 
Look forward to seeing you soon!
Rachael (Chris J’s friend from Atlanta)

    Legs play a bigger part in athletics than is sometimes supposed.Muhammad Ali stated that he often boxed with his legs as much as with his hands. He was speaking of the footwork he used against his opponents, and his ability to keep his body in strategic rhythm. 

    All sports are based on footwork. The last time I was training inSeattle, we played soccer for conditioning one day. Having never played before, I figured it would be easy to keep up, based on my athletic ability and conditioning. What I learned quickly is that I was running twice as much as the experienced players. 

    The reason for their smart economy of motion was their sophisticated footwork.