The Chronicles of Eric Bradley and his Journey to the UFC – Part Two

Welcome to “The Chronicles of Eric Bradley” as we follow this young warrior all the way through his incredible journey towards the professional fighting ranks of the UFC.

To recap what we already know from Part One…

Eric Bradley is a 29-year old former wrestler from Penn State who was a two-time NCAA Division One Wrestling All-American. He was ranked number one in the United States in his senior year.

Bradley was also a two-time Big Ten Conference Wrestling Champion and a National Boxing Champion (boxing record 15-0, MMA record 4-1).

Bradley holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (under John Lewis) and has been in several training camps with the likes of BJ Penn, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “Big Country” Roy Nelson, and John Hathaway. He currently trains out of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Now for the shocking twist…

While wrestling in his freshman year at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid, NY—Bradley injured his back, which resulted in a hairline fracture in his spine.

In other words—Eric broke his back.

You would think that would put an end to his fighting career, right?

Well, not exactly.

With an injury that would have permanently side-lined most anyone else, Eric Bradley never once gave up on himself, or on his dream.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for this young man, which is exactly why I was inspired to create this entertaining series. Please join me, as we get to know more about Eric and his dream of one day fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

This is my third interview with Eric, but stay tuned. There’s plenty more to come…

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James Ryan: Hey Eric, how have you been?

Eric Bradley: Hey James, I’ve been doing really well. It’s just great to finally have a fight. [Laughs] I’ve been training really hard for this—basically doing good.

How about you?

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James Ryan: Things have been great! Very busy lately, which is always a good thing. [Laughs]

So you finally have a fight, eh? That’s awesome! When and where?

Eric Bradley: It’s happening this upcoming Saturday, October 2nd in Newark, New Jersey with the Brick City Fighting Championships.

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James Ryan: Brick City? Is this their first event?

Eric Bradley: Yes, and it should be great.

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James Ryan: Cool. Who is your opponent?

Eric Bradley: Well, here’s the thing, it was originally supposed to be this kid, Nadir, but something happened and now I’m going up against a local guy by the name of Josh Key.

I’m just glad that they have somebody for me.

Lately it’s just been one thing after the next and my opponents always seem to get bounced around. The promoter had a really tough time apparently trying to find me a suitable opponent.

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James Ryan: [Laughs] Well, it certainly sounds like it. Let me read to you what the Promoter actually wrote in your opponent’s bio. Seriously, it’s almost too unbelievable:

“Key is the only fighter to answer the nationwide “Call out” to fight the nation’s best wrestler, Eric Bradley.

“Looks like a battle of the beasts. Bradley has been publicly quoted as promising to keep this fight on his feet to showcase his striking skills to the world. Prediction: Key, the KO specialist, will be just too happy to oblige.”

Wow, Eric! Wow.

I have been following your career for months now, and we have spoken several times, and each time it just seemed like bad luck was against you, as every time you had a fight lined up, your opponent would somehow back out for one reason or another.

After reading that however, it no longer seems like a bad coincidence.

I honestly can’t understand why the UFC hasn’t signed you yet. Having trained with some of the best, you’re certainly no stranger to them. I guess they’re just not in the market for an ultra-tough fighter with a tonne of heart and crazy hair. [Laughs]

Eric Bradley: [Laughs] Well, hopefully someday I will get the chance to prove that I belong with the best in the world.

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James Ryan: So are you ready for this fight against Key? You haven’t had a fight in a while. Have you been able to stay motivated with your training?

Eric Bradley: I’m so ready. I’ve been ready for this for a long time. My training is right on for this fight, and as of right now, I’m still looking at taking another fight on October 22nd as well. And possibly even another in the Boston area in November. We’ll see how things go.

At this point, I’m just ready for anything.

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James Ryan: I would love to be able to make it out to that fight in November.

Eric Bradley: That would be awesome!

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James Ryan: So what can you tell me about the event this weekend?

Eric Bradley: The event this weekend should be a very good one.

A couple of Gracie’s are going to be on the card—Igor and Gregor, so that should be pretty exciting. Many of the top MMA camps in the country will be represented there as well, such as, Renzo Gracie NYC, Greg Jackson, Rhino Fight Team, AMA, Pat Miletich—all kinds of great camps.

Plus, the entire main card, which I will be fighting on, will be televised on pay-per-view on gofightlive.tv via the Internet. I think you can purchase the live event for only $9.99.

I’m really excited to get back in the cage.

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James Ryan: That all sounds great!

Let me ask you something, Eric. Confidence and preparation are very important to a fighter. Game plans need time to develop properly.

Any concerns about the last minute opponent and the limited amount of time that you now have to specifically prepare for him?

Eric Bradley: My high school wrestling coach once told me, ‘you don’t wrestle a name—you wrestle a body.’

You have to trust in your ability and in everything that you have learned, and just do what you know.

For me, obviously it would nice to know what an opponent does so that I could gear a little bit of my training around some of his strengths, but ultimately, with every fight, I’m going out to do what I do best and make my opponent have to adjust to me.

It would be nice to have a bit more footage on Key and to know a bit more about him, but to me it doesn’t really matter. Sometimes it’s better not to get caught up in the hype of who you are fighting, and just go out there and follow your instincts.

My game plan is what it always is—to go out there and put on a great show.

For me, not knowing a lot about Key isn’t really affecting my confidence at all.

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James Ryan: I see what you are saying. It’s not really a disadvantage for you alone. Your opponent is in the exact same situation.

Eric Bradley: Exactly. Whatever disadvantage I may have, my opponent has the exact same disadvantage, so in that sense, it really doesn’t make a difference.

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James Ryan: True—makes sense.

So what do you do in your spare time when you’re not training or combing your hair?

Eric Bradley: [Laughs] I’ve actually been teaching an MMA class for kids at the Excel Defense Studios.

We do everything from stand-up, to ground work. All of the kids are progressing pretty rapidly, and a lot of them are starting to get involved in different competitions as well—wrestling, jiu-jitsu, MMA.

I plan on attending as many of their events as I can, and hopefully serve as a mentor—someone who they can come talk to, if they need to.

It’s a step to getting more involved in the community, and also helping these kids to grow up and make the right choices.

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James Ryan: Excellent. Any more thought to my nickname suggestion—‘Back Breaker’?

Eric Bradley: I’m considering it. [Laughs]

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James Ryan: [Laughs] No pressure. [Laughs]

Any special thanks that you would like to send out?

Eric Bradley: I would definitely like to thank Carried Out Fight Gear, hyefighters.com, and viiadesigns.com.

And I would also like to thank Tony C. and Andy M. from the Carried Out Fight Gear family. Apparently those guys have about 40 of their friends from the Jersey area coming out to cheer me on Saturday night, which is totally amazing!

It really means a lot.

The support that I have been receiving so far has been incredible.

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James Ryan: You deserve it, my friend.

Eric Bradley: And you, James. Thank you very much!

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James Ryan: [Laughs] Hey, it’s my pleasure, Eric.

And all the best this weekend. I know that you’re going to do a great job!

Make sure you call me afterwards.

Eric Bradley: Definitely. Thanks again.

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This is my interview. If you don’t like it…I have others. Check them out at www.mrjamesryan.com

Carried Out Fight Gear was founded in 2009 by a group of Ex-fighters who realized that the true essence of a warrior was being lost by some people giving up. The Carried Out mindset of “One Way Out—Carried Out” signifies that a fighter will never surrender, and will fight to the very end. Leaving everything he/she has in the ring, on the mat, or in the cage.

ONE WAY OUT…CARRIED OUT!