It was just one short year ago and things were looking good for Will Chope (20-7).
Riding a fourteen-fight win streak, and having just dispatched of former King of Pancrase, Takumi Nakayama, Chope was on deck to make a run in the UFC’s famed octagon. Then it all went away.
“Everything was great when I signed with the UFC but Max Holloway was a pretty nasty pick for my first fight,” Chope said, modestly.
“But that’s no excuse. I didn’t know what to expect and I guess I just wasn’t ready for that fight. Anyway, I got really hungry after that defeat and I wanted to fight Diego Brandao in Brazil and everyone knows what happened next. My personal life was brought up from like five years ago, and I got kicked out.”
Fortunately for Chope, his fighting opportunities weren’t limited. On the very day he learnt of his release from the Las Vegas-based outfit, the Pacific Ring Organized Fighting promotion in Taiwan came calling.
But of course, even that didn’t go exactly as planned.
“I took another fight right away. But man, I was emotional and upset about getting kicked out,” he admitted. “I was set to fight this South Korean guy (Moon Ki-Bum) and it was supposed to be a sure thing, you know? He was 2-0 or 3-0 at that time, and I just wanted to go in there, get a win and show everybody that the UFC release didn’t affect me.”
“Thing is, I wasn’t training as hard as I should have been training and was trying to sort out my personal life. It was a fight that I should have won.”
But soon after, a change in surroundings coupled with the willingness to get stuck in was all it took for the 24-year-old to get back on track. Hours on the bags and practice sessions on the mats eventually paved the way for ‘Lanky Madness’ to notch a victory at REBEL FC 2: Battle Royale this past August.
Chope has his sights on a couple of fights before the end of the calendar year and is quickly looking for a turnaround after a tough start. He has taken refuge at Juggernaut Fight Club in Singapore, adamant in wanting to continue his ascend in the Featherweight division.
Ultimately, he hopes to make 2014 a year of two halves.
“It was definitely a rough start to the year. But I’m going to end the year really strong,” Chope stated. “I made the move full-time to Singapore here at Juggernaut Fight Club, started coaching here and this place has honestly saved me; They’ve gotten me back on the winning track.”
Since his triumph two months ago, Chope wasted little time in the preparation process for his next tilt, which takes place this weekend at IADF’s debut spectacle in Sentosa, Singapore entitled “Singapore vs. World”.
It’ll be the first time in nearly three years that the 24-year-old will be looking for consecutive victories following back-to-back defeats. But this time around though, a case could be made about the stakes being a tad bit higher.
Chope has been slated to face Rodolfo Marques (16-4-1), an Australia-based fighter out of the famed Nova Uniao camp. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace has amassed bouts against the likes of Rob Lisita, Bibiano Fernandes and Yusup Saadulaev in recent times and was even tipped to be one of the UFC’s latest 145-lbs recruits not too long ago.
However, Chope feels his previous opponents have presented a myriad of different styles to consider, and it might be relatively straightforward in the case of his Brazilian counterpart. Furthermore, factor in the fact that the fight will be taking place in a ring and Chope believes he has figured the central key to success in this upcoming clash.
“I’m just expecting him to take me down. I’ll just stop the takedowns, make him lose his confidence,” Chope said. “Even if he does take me down, I’ll punish him. Basically, it’ll be the same gameplan as I fought Mauricio Dos Santos Jr. in my previous fight.”
“I fought in a ring back in URCC but I’ve never fought a predominant grappler in a ring. Usually I fought strikers or someone who’s just well rounded. This guy (Marques) is a black belt and likes to take people down. It’s great that this fight is in a ring because it’s going to be harder for him to take me down, and keep me down, so we’ll see what happens.”
It’s well worth noting that one of Chope’s active training partners, Alex Volkanovski (8-1), has a knockout win over Marques too.
And it’s Volkanovski who has been offering Chope the most advice ahead of Sunday.
“I definitely asked him how strong Marques was and how he controlled him. It’s been really nice working with him,” Chope added. “Alex controlled him in the clinch and the clinch happens to be kind of like my thing. But what’s different about this fight from Alex’s is that it’s not in a cage but a ring.”
Physically healthy and mentally sound, Chope believes he is once again poised to be a relevant force in the the 145-lbs ranks after what has been somewhat of Jekyll and Hyde run this year. So where would a win over a fighter of Marques’ caliber put Chope? Well, currently, there are no set plans.
But rest assured, come the turn of the calendar year, fans will witness a possessed Will Chope who’s eager to embark on a new challenge in 2015.
He might have started the year off with a loss that saw him laying on the mat in the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, dazed and confused whilst staring at the bright lights. However, a chop and change has given the 24-year-old a new meaning and a new learning curve in all aspects of his game.
“I don’t know if I’ve hit my prime, but things are starting to come together and I’m still learning a lot. People don’t know that when I went pro, I was still actually learning how to fight,” Chope concluded. “I got thrown to the wolves. It was either sink or swim and you’ve got to learn how to swim or you just get out of the sport. I’ve only been training for four or five years and as I’m fighting, things are starting to come together. Now I know what I’m good at and what not.”
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IADF: Singapore vs. World takes place October 5th at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. The event is set to be streamed on GFL.tv and will be broadcasted on the Eurosport network.
Chope-Marques is part of a stacked nine-fight running order (consisting of two pro Muay Thai and seven pro MMA bouts) that will also feature names such as Lena Ovchynnikova (9-3), Syafiq Samad (3-1) and Emilio Urrutia (3-0) among many others.
Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for an update of the full fight card and more exclusives leading up to fight night.
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