Photo credit to @TomBomb15 on Twitter
Tom Theocharis on Brandon Bell at HR MMA 118
Tom Theocharis is now fighting in the new year instead of in a couple of weeks like initially expected. His bout with Brandon Bell was initially supposed to happen on December 12th. HR MMA 118 now is slated to go down on February 27th, 2021.
I spoke to him the day that he had the news relayed to him and seemed understandably disappointed. “Honestly, it could be better. The fight actually got rescheduled for February. I just found out.”
“I was kind of keeping up to date with the COVID and what was going on in the States. In Kentucky where the fight was supposed to happen. Things were going south essentially, and basically, their governor just threw out a bunch of restrictions and they tried to save the card but unfortunately, the Athletic Commission did not approve. They’re trying to do pay per view event only. That didn’t work out. And so the whole card is scrapped.”
Below are several additional excerpts from our conversation.
Tom Theocharis
“To be quite frank with you, I’m not surprised. This is roughly my 10th fight this year that has kind of fallen through. It sucks. I’ve trained this whole year basically thinking I’m fighting. January 1st, We had a big training session with Aaron Jeffrey, Mike Malott was there, a bunch of guys were at the Waterdown BJJ gym. A bunch of black belts and we did maybe like 10, 10 minute rounds of just pure grappling. I remember driving home after that session like, ‘this year is going to be sick’. We started off with that good of a session the very first day of the year.”
“At that point, I had a fight scheduled for February and March. Those obviously fell through, then April that one fell through. And then May fell through, then let’s look at August, that one fell through. September fell through, you know. It’s just been a year of like, ‘Alright, I think I’m fighting’ and then I’m not. So I’ve just essentially been in training camp this whole year and my body’s just pretty beat up at this point.”
“I legit thought this would be my breakout year. This fight specifically against a Bellator vet and I believe he signed with M1 Global. He was kind of like a journeyman with nine wins and I thought this was just a perfect match, because he’s kind of like a shorter guy and I like to use my reach. I like to keep people on the end of my strikes. Just the fact that we were going to be the main event down in Kentucky. All the stars seemed to align or were going to align I suppose I should say but obviously they didn’t. It just basically delays my career…and it’s kind of annoying.”
Tom Theocharis vs Brandon Bell
Thoughts on Brandon Bell’s skillset and resume overall
“To be quite frank with you, skill set wise, stand up, it just was not there. I for sure know that he was going to go to try to take me down…I know that he’s going to try to take me down. If he doesn’t believe that going into the fight, I know that once we get into the fight and he’s not gonna be able to touch me, then he’s gonna for sure kind of reach for those takedowns. He’s a super tough dude like I’ve seen him get dropped and then come back, look for that takedown, and even finish his opponent. I mean he would be a tough guy to put away. I would just have to come in shape and prepared. Skillset wise, I think I’m better everywhere to be honest with you.”
“Stand up, I would kill him. And obviously he would try to look to take me to the ground. But I don’t think he’d be able to get me to the mat, to be honest with you. I’ve got really good takedown defense and I’m comfortable everywhere.”
The Xtreme Couture and Niagara Top Team connections for Tom Theocharis
“I’m training a lot with coach Chris Prickett, he runs like the best practices there are…maybe even in the country. His practices are so difficult and the room is just incredible. There are not just MMA fighters in there. There’s obviously Brock wrestlers and Brock wrestlers are crazy talented. They’re amazing, they push you hard. As far as MMA wise, most guys I train with would be like Aaron Jeffery, Elias Theodorou, Kyran Cameron, and Bobby Poulter…The bodies I’m getting every single day are incredible.”
HR MMA 118
Tom Theocharis’ friendship with UFC fighter TJ Laramie
“I told TJ Laramie, he was supposed to come down and corner me for my fight in December, and I was telling him he should come by and come to Niagara Top Team. He actually came last week and he loved it. So I think he’ll be coming down more often and getting some work. Just because coach Chris Prickett puts on some phenomenal practices.”
“So he’s been buddies for quite a while now. Because what happened was Sam Stout, he was getting ready for his fights with Rino (Belcastro). And so I’d go down to Windsor with Sam to train with Rino and those guys. Ever since then, maybe like five or six years ago…ever since then, TJ and I have just always stayed in touch and kept buddies and we fought on the same card a few times.”
His connections to the London MMA connections and calling Chris Horodecki his sensei
“Yeah. Chris and I still talk, almost like weekly, Malcolm Gordon and I, Sam Stout. We’re all just a crew of really good buddies. And it’s not just about fighting. We’re family. Anytime I’m in London, the door’s always open for myself to come in and train with those guys. And I was there last week, and then Sam kind of ran us through like some drilling and I did some sparring with Gord and I just love being back at that gym. It’s where I grew up as a fighter, and I’ll always stay tied with that team.”
