|
|
|
| Name: |  Robert Drysdale |
| Nickname: | -- |
| Age: | 29 |
| Height: | 6'3" |
| Location: |
Las Vegas, Nevada |
2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion Robert Drysdale (3-0) hasn't been in any rush to dive into the sport of mixed martial arts. At 29 years old, he's a late starter in the sport, but he isn't new to one of the most integral parts of MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Drysdale's resume is miles long, sporting multiple world and Brazilian national championships to his name. Now, he's attempting to bring that same success to the cage.
Since debuting at Armageddon Fighting Championships 3 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada last July, Drysdale has collected three straight wins, submitting all of his opposition inside the opening frame. His longest bout, against Clay Davidson at AFC 4 last November, lasted a mere two minutes and six seconds. He followed up the victory with his quickest win to date, a one-minute and four second guillotine choke submission of The Ultimate Fighter season 3 contestant Mike Nickels at AFC 6 in June.
Expectedly, Drysdale is a phenomenal topside grappler who also has the know-how to reverse positions from his back. Nothing new there, and it's something we've come to expect from world-class grapplers. He's the consummate submission specialist, and any opponent, even seasoned veterans, will have a hard time dealing with his entangling Jiu-Jitsu.
Surprisingly, Drysdale's takedown game has played a pivotal role in his success thus far. It's allowed him to take the fight to the ground immediately where his strengths lie, and it's the biggest reason why Drysdale has quickly taken out his opposition.
We haven't, however, seen a prolonged striking attack, so the jury is still out on whether it can act as a means to winning a fight. Drysdale will undoubtedly run into tougher competition that can stuff his shots, and that could spell disaster for his aspirations of becoming a UFC champion. Luckily, with the support of the veteran fighters of Xtreme Couture and the connections he's made in Brazil, Drysdale has many of the world's best MMA trainers at his disposal.
Inactivity has plagued Drysdale's quick ascension through the ranks, but he has stated in recent interviews that 2012 will be his year to shine. He's vowed to make his MMA career a priority, so expect big things from Drysdale this year.
Check out video footage of Robert Drysdale after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - Andrey Koreshkov #2 - Dhiego Lima #3 - Brandon Thatch #4 - Nordine Taleb #5 - Hernani Perpetuo #6 - Brock Jardine #7 - Alan Jouban #8 - Mohsen Bahari #9 - Andre Santos #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - Antonio Braga Neto #2 - Marcelo Guimaraes #3 - Claudio Silva #4 - Bojan Velickovic #5 - Ildemar Alcantara #6 - Michal Materla #7 - Elvis Mutapcic #8 - Tor Troeng #9 - Jack Hermansson #10 - Tim Ruberg |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - Robert Drysdale #7 - Artur Alibulatov #8 - Thiago Perpetuo #9 - Steve Bosse #10 - Juha Saarinen |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
Robert Drysdale vs. Mike Nickels
Robert Drysdale vs. Clay Davidson
Robert Drysdale vs. Bastien Huveneers
Robert Drysdale vs Josh Musick - Amateur
Drysdale's Amateur MMA Debut
0 recs | 37 comments
To me he is the 205 version of Maia.
malo - January 18, 2012 via mobile
In the sense that he's a great grappler? OK
But Drysdale is not going to have the impact on the 205 pound division that Maia has had on the 185 pound division in MMA.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 18, 2012
In the 205 divison...
…I can’t see him having much more of an impact than a Dean Lister.
Corrupted - January 18, 2012
dean is a guard player.
A ref stand up has stolen his chance at victory.
the-gentle-way - January 18, 2012 via mobile
I'm surprised he isn't in the UFC already
Doesn’t need to be fighting main card off the bat but there’s plenty of scrub-level fighters out there for a one and done and his connections/grappling resume can take him there.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
He would have been had he been more active last year. He said a lot of things came up. Not sure if that’s injuries or he was fully involved in grappling tournaments, seminars.
Leland Roling - January 18, 2012
Considering how much he charges for BJJ related things I'd be surprised if he fully commited to MMA
Dude makes Anderson Silva money.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
I went to one of his seminars, at Abmar Barbosa's academy in Massachusetts
it was $50. Well worth 4 times that, but it was pretty cheap in comparison to some other seminars I’ve attended.
esquilinho - January 18, 2012
That's a pretty damn good deal, were there a lot of people in attendance?
His website says he charges (the school) $2500 for one day (3 hours).
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
I don't hold out much hope for Drysdale in the UFC, but I'm glad he's trying.
POW - January 18, 2012
I just changed my mind.
205 needs an injection of BJJ. Bring him in!
POW - January 18, 2012
Fuck yea.. I hope Vinny Magalhaes makes it back too, although he still has some ways to go in his overall game.
Horselover Fat - January 18, 2012
He was actually cast for season 10 of TUF and failed his physical
He had a brain aneurism, which he is now fully cleared from. Yes, that was a heavyweight season and yes, I felt he would have won it with relative ease. He’s since decided to take it slow, which is smart, so he doesn’t get the Amir treatment. He’ll be in the UFC by the end of 2012.
Charles Awad - January 18, 2012
You think 0-0 Robert Drysdale would have beaten 13-4 Roy Nelson "with relative ease"?
I strongly, strongly disagree with you.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 18, 2012
Same
Also while Roy isn’t the best in the standup department he could’ve easily kept the fight standing and beaten him there.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
"Felt" = past tense
Roy was coming off of consecutive losses and hadn’t beaten anyone worth while. Try applying some context.
Charles Awad - January 18, 2012
OK, well, I disagreed, past tense, with you very, very strongly
Nelson’s two consecutive losses were against Jeff Monson in a decision most people thought he deserved to win, and against Andrei Arlovski in a fight he was winning before he got stood up from side control. And Monson was Top 15 and Arlovski Top 5 at the time. To say someone who had never had a professional MMA fight in his life would have beaten Roy Nelson with relative ease, after two of the 15 best heavyweights in the world had anything but ease against Nelson, is a statement I have a hard time understanding.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 18, 2012
I don't care
Don’t let it ruin your day.
Charles Awad - January 18, 2012
Don't worry, didn't ruin my day at all
It actually brightened my day because I always get a kick out of people who claim they don’t care about something, and yet they care enough to read it and reply to it.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 18, 2012
Great
Hope you enjoy your lunch.
Charles Awad - January 18, 2012
what's the difference
between amateur and pro MMA in the US?
the guy with the big nose - January 18, 2012
Getting paid for your fight, that's about it.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
Well I guess it depends on the state, too.
But for the most part it’s the license type + money.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
In Massachusetts there are a few differences.
No knees/elbows to the head in any position. 7oz gloves instead of 5. 3 minute rounds instead of 5. Some orgs make you wear shinguards (but not too many). In Rhode Island there are some orgs that don’t allow punches to the head on the ground, so it makes for some odd ground ’n pound.
POW - January 18, 2012
Yeah I did see that in some video
Guys were wearing so much protective gear it was messing with the grappling. A little ridiculous.
menckenstein - January 18, 2012
the bigger gloves aren’t too bad. But the shinguards are 100% bogus, especially when they start slipping off in the middle of a fight.
POW - January 18, 2012
okay cool
thanks everybody
the guy with the big nose - January 18, 2012
Depends on the state, but some amateur events don’t allow ground strikes or elbows.
Leland Roling - January 18, 2012
Leland, I’m pretty sure the two bottom youtube videos are from the same fight. The one called “MMA debut” is far worse quality though
Horselover Fat - January 18, 2012
That’s fine. I was in a rush to get the videos in as I woke up a bit late this morning.
Leland Roling - January 18, 2012
Really wished the Roger Gracie fight happened. Drysdale in Strikeforce would’ve really helped develop his career and the shallow LHW division.
Holls Hoyce - January 18, 2012
I went to AFC 4
Met Drysdale, Mir, Sarah Kaufman,I even found Kalib Starnes! Drysdale is a really cool guy in person.
ODBasyoucansee - January 18, 2012
Until he ran away…
Paulo Filho's Psychiatrist - January 18, 2012
Oh believe me
there was no shortage of those jokes that night
ODBasyoucansee - January 19, 2012
looks a lot like
Rob Young - January 18, 2012
Drysdale could go far at 205
because he is such a different style from what guys are used to at 205. Outside of Phil Davis, there isn’t really a guy at LHW working a BJJ game. Most guys are strikers who counter-wrestle a lot.
I don’t think Drysdale will ever be a champion, but he could make some good money being interesting to watch.
T.P. Grant - January 18, 2012
Saw him fight at Clay Davidson at AFC 4
Guess it goes without saying but the guy’s a beast on the ground. Can’t wait to see him progress and hopefully move to the big stage.
BROCKLESNAR!!!!! - January 18, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bloody Elbow to post a comment.