Mark Potter laying them down!
The transitional path between sports is always a notoriously rocky road. It takes a special type of athlete to retrain their already world class skillset to adapt to the new physical demands of a differing discipline.
There have been plenty of athletes who have crossed over between sports with varying degrees of success but, of all the most recent, James Toney’s brief foray into the world of mixed martial arts was perhaps the most disastrous.
Toney, a world class boxer with championship credentials, made the leap into mma and was gifted with arguably one of the worst style match ups humanly possible as he met wrestling machine Randy Couture.
The outcome, as you would imagine, was both short and sweet and as Toney mumbled his way out of the UFC it was clear once again that boxing and mma require two completely different outlooks.
In order for a good boxer to become a good mixed martial artist there are so many fundamental changes in footwork, shoulder movement, defense and offense that need to be addressed before a transition is even contemplated.
England’s Mark Potter (4-1 MMA, 21-5 Boxing) began his quest to become a mixed martial artist following a lack of opposition on the UK scene and being duly enthralled with the ever expanding sport of mixed martial arts.
His debut back in May 2010 was a successful, if not brief, encounter in which he was taken down early but reversed to the mount position and won by ground and pound.
Since then the Great White Shark has only lost one bout, due to a disqualification, and is poised to challenge for his first heavyweight title at leading UK promotion Ultimate Challenge.
Potter will meet former strong man and current UCMMA heavyweight champion Oli Thompson on June 25th and is already deep into a training camp that has seen him work relentlessly on his wrestling.
“I expect him to take me to the floor keep me there and pound on me or submit me. If he’s thinking of anything else its suicide. Can he take me down, pound etc? We’ll see.” – Mark Potter
Potter’s transition has been largely successful but, in Oli Thompson, he faces a relentless wrestler with the tools to put him way out of his comfort zone. It’s a perfect test to see Potter’s ambition and desire to progress as a mixed martial artist or, conversely, if he is content to remain a heavy handed boxer amazed at the opportunities that his educated hands present.
He may not be a household name just yet, although picked as a top 10 prospect by bloodyelbow.com, but a win against a strong wrestler would surely be just the springboard that Potter needs to get noticed on a much larger stage.
Mark Potter Highlight reel put together by Fortuna PR
