My fight on July 9, 2011 against Kirk Miller

http://youtu.be/42ltMhi-HMU

Rolled Jits last night.

Last night was fun.

No pressure, just having fun rolling Jitsu with the guys. I didn’t tap anyone this time but I really wasn’t trying to. I was mostly trying to defend attempts on me. It seems I do a lot better in a standup slap fighting start with light kicks. More for me to use as distractions and such. Greg and I started from the stand up and I threw a jab and followed up with a leg kick, he then shot in on me and I managed to grab his neck as he took us down. I somehow managed to flip him over while still keeping hold of his neck and had him in a really solid choke but my hands were clinched in a wierd angle so I could use it effectively. It was funny though because Josh, my boxing trainer saw Gregs head getting red and flipped him off. haha

Greg got out of it but it was the second time I’ve come really close. Soon I’ll get him.

I think Lacy and I are going to do ssome drills together. Nothing crazy at all (gotta protect the baby!) but by practicing holds and submissions lightly on her, it will help me better learn the technique while also giving her a foundation to learn from. I honestly think every woman should be learning BJJ. I think you would find a lot less rapes if women knew this stuff in general.

Its been quite a while since I’ve rolled or trained and last night I didn’t really get too winded but my muscles got really hard and felt quite used and ubused. This morning when I woke up I felt it alllllll…..but it was fun.

Baby Rogan Blog

Lacy has begun a blog of her own about her pregnancy with my dear baby Rogan!

Check it out and say hello!

http://babyrogan.wordpress.com

Potential detour…

Well folks, a lot has changed in the past two days…

My girlfriend and I are having a child and getting married…

Lacy is the best damn woman I’ve ever dated and I’m truly blessed to have found her and now she is pregnant. Both of our families know and are happy for us. The problem is, I have to really focus on finances over training right now. There is a lot I need to get situated and in January I’m supposed to fly out to San Diego and LA for venture capital meetings for Upstager.com a site I’ve had in development for almost 2 years now.

I think for the time being I’m going to continue working out and getting into better shape but it may be a while before I begin fighting. Nobody wants me to take any risks especially my business partner. It’s crazy how your entire outlook on life can change with one evening. heh

Dont get me wrong I’m not complaining in the least bit, everything is just different now.

I’m hoping that once everything is in order and I know more about what is going to happen over the next 6 months I’ll be able to focus even more on training but right now its not right…

This isn’t over…just postponed a bit.

Bigshow just became Bigdaddy…

Umm yeah, still sore as hell.

It’s been two days and I’m still so damn sore I can’t stand it.

My butt and the back of my legs hurt so bad each time I try to sit on the can I want to scream. My left elbow and shoulder are also hurting pretty bad. I hit Ravae wrong Tuesday and since then I’ve been getting wierd sharp pains in my arm and shoulder. I ended up not going to weight training today. I just hurt too damn bad.

I’m going to try and walk tomorrow and then run on Saturday if its not too icey out then hopefully by Tuesday I’ll be back on the horse good as new.

What a damn day…

So I wake up today and enjoy my mornings breakfast with my girlfriend Lacy and her son Ian (such a cute young lad).

Today was training day and I was exausted!

I was weak! I couldn’t even finish my 3rd set on the bench. I was all whacked out.

Then, I come back a couple hours later to roll Jiu-Jitsu. Greg Hupp and I were the only two there at the time so we rolled and went light contact with 4oz gloves on. It’s so much better rolling that way. It’s more real and helps to get your awareness up. At least for me. You can’t really do that so much at my fight gym because everyone just ends up trying to kill eachother. Greg ended up standing on top of me in my guard, so I threw my legs in front of him, grabbed his ankles and slammed him on his back, then I grabbed his ankle and started twisting it and he started tapping me!!!!!!!!!! “I did it?!!” I asked Greg overly excited. “Yeah” he says. “WOOOOOOT!!!” I carry on so pumped that I tapped this guy who very few are able to tap to begin with. Then he says don’t get too excited, I was tapping you because it was the end of the round…

Mother fu&$ER!!!!! Talk about a let down. hah! He did give me props on my take down and reverasl though.

So things are going well and I’m already exausted, then comes in world class boxer Ra-Veigh. This guy is awesome. He’s the guy that blacks Rich Franklins eye on a regular basis. I’m probably not spelling his name right but thats the best I got.

Anyway, my trainer Josh is like “Jay, get your boxing shit on your sparring Ra-Veigh a couple rounds.” I couldn’t believe it. Not only am I exausted, no spirit, I’ve trained in weights, I’ve been rolling a little over a half hour but now I have to get in the ring with this killer?!!! Good, lets do it, but I dont have two rounds in me…

So here I am getting my stuff on and Ra-Veigh is goating me, talking trash and its just awesome. I wasn’t scared, nervous or anything. My mouthpiece and that fucking head guard thing strapped under under my neck was making want to gag, and I ended up gagging pretty bad later. The round was alright. Ra-Veigh sparred one handed with the other guys but used both with me for the first minute or so, then he trash talked and put one back in. Mostly because I was so fucking sore and tired I just couldn’t chase him anyway. I got a few solid shots in on him though that he let me know were solid, haha. And of course he returned them in kind to the body or the head.

It was an awesome experience and I know Ra-Viegh took it so easy on me that it wasn’t funny, but to get in there and spar with him, take a few shots from him and deliver a few to him was just a cool experience.

Tomorrow, I’m sleeping…

Amazing feeling.

I just want to say hello to the folks I met last night at Caged Inferno 4.

It appears I was recognized by a couple and a couple other folks last night who have been reading my blog and I have to say it feels really good to not only know that readers are enjoying my bitching sessions on here, but that its helping to get people interested in the sport as a whole.

The couple that came up to me told me they were reading my blog and came to my MMA Big Show event, then they came out to the Caged Inferno. How cool is that?! Another guy came up and asked if I had a blog and that he checks it out and knew it had to be me. Then I had my picture taken with Andre Arlovski who I towered over and the guy asked my name and said he couldn’t wait to see me fight.

It feels good to know that this blog is of interest to people and to you folks reading, keep reading, say hello and make yourselves known. Things are about to start getting a lot more interesting…

I guess I’m boxing…

I had weight training today and it was probably my best day yet. Josh, my trainer told me it was time to start keeping a notebook of my weight training etc so I’m going to start doing that from now on.

It looks like I’m boxing in February…I was going to jump in the cage in January but two of my trainers want to box a couple times first to get used to fighting in front of a crowd. This will also help me with my cardio and such. It will also help me work on my take down defenses for a while. Overall I think it makes sense. I just know that my fight trainer wants me in the cage ASAP and my boxing and weight trainers are wanting me to make a career in boxing because there is more money in it in the short term. I guess it has to do with me being a 7ft tall white guy that is American.

All I know is that I’m open and nomatter what I intend to fight my way through MMA and try to get into the UFC. I just want everything to be perfect and my trainers need to help me figure things out a little more clearly.

*sigh*

Overall things are going really well.

Oh, I also got a pair of Nike Shocks with the computer chip in them and an Ipod Nano. The shoes send a message to the chip in my Nano and tell me everything I want to know about my running workouts. Distance, speed, pace etc. It’s pretty slick and helpful!

More weights!

Weight training today went solid. I’m learning to love the burn!

I ran yesterday morning and this morning and did pretty well. I was told to just run a mile and instead of lengthening my distance to just keep trying to get a better time. Makes sense!

We did the typical legs, biceps, chinups, lunges with weights etc. Those lunges are a bitch when you’re this tall lemme tell ya.

Jab jab jab

So I trained with Dion last week. We did all the excersizes that make one really sore and hurt and of course out of breathe. Then Dion told me I was getting in the ring with Greg to work on my jab. It was wkward at first because Greg is so short but tough as nails. I didn’t have a mouthpiece in, but Greg did and I asked “Am I supposed to hit em?” and they were like “Yeah” and of course Greg goated me by sticking his head out making a funny face. haha Hes a trip.

So, it went alright and I got what Dion was trying to teach me. Basically using my jab to keep my opponent at a distance and it works. I just got winded quick. My arm was about to fall off. By the second round I was so winded Dion would make Greg work my body as punishment and I wasn’t allowed to hit back.

It was a cool workout.

I drank and ate everything I wanted all this week and today I’m going out to get a new pair of Nike Shocks and come Monday, I start running every day and training 5 days a week to get my cardio up. I’ts going to be rough but I gotta do it. Dion called me yesterday and said “I’m gonna fuck you up on Monday!!!!”

Yaaay!

Huge Success!!

The fight show is over and was a huge success. Over 2,200 tickets sold, an infinite number of compliments on the event, the production, the fights etc. It was fantastic and actually sad that its all over. Now, for the next one!!!

Here are some pics of me taken during the night.

 

Technique

Yesterday, Brian (a huge guy who trains at Boxing 4 Fitness and someone I consider a friend) called me up wanting to work on Jiu Jitsu technique so I went up to the gym and we trained a bit.

I learned a LOT in just one hour with Brian. It was great. He would show me a move and do it on me several times, then I would do it to him several times and so on. We worked on Triangles, Arms bars and other submissions and I am starting to grasp this stuff pretty well. It’s really all about body position and angles. It’s sweet when you begin to pick these tools up.

Tonight is the weigh in for my fight show at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. Tomorrow is the big show!!!

I’m excited and nervous.  A lot of money is going into this event and things are going prety well so far. It could sell out but I’m not counting those eggs yet. We’ll see! If this show does do well, the next event is going to be twice as big!!!

Pullups..fun fun!

Had weight training today and it was decent. It’s rough, but its getting a little easier. Lunges are the hardest part, then squats. I’ve learned that weight training is really about getting into the most uncomfortable position possible and then doing something over and over thats difficult. haha

Today I began doing pullups with my feet crossed on a chair. FUCKING HARD!

Few more days until the fight show and then I really get down to business in the gym…

ALWAYS wear a mouth guard..

I went to the fight gym yesterday morning. Stupid me, I was hung over and felt like shit but I went anyway. Fox 19 News was there to interview me and Roger Bowling about the upcoming fight show on Nov 18th.

I feel like I worked pretty hard all things considered. Damn those fuckers like to choke me. I have pretty solid rear naked choke defense but the first roll I didnt have my mouth guard in and he tried to choke me but was pushing against my teeth with his forearm. Ouch! We got up and my mouth was bloody. I have teeth marks all over the inside of my mouth.

I finally put my mouth guard in and rolled with Stu. I got into his guard pretty easily but then I just defended him long enough to get out and try to choke me. He couldn’t get the choke which is cool.

I’m supposed to fight in January for the first time at the Clash In The Cage in Lawrenceburg, KY. It’s a stepping stone into the Caged Inferno in Louisville. I’m not sure yet if I’m ready but I think I’m going to give it a shot. I just might surprise myself. My stand up is really solid and I have big Dave Hess and Roger Bowling willing to come up to my boxing gym to help me prepare for my fight along with my trainers Josh and Dion.

We’ll see how things progress. If I dont feel I’m ready by December I may hold off until the next one, but we’ll see. I want to do it, but I want to be sure I will win and I have a few things to work on to get that confidence.

My first fight?

Things are progressing in weight training. Added 20lbs to my bench, tricep push downs etc. I’m not near as sore for as long after workouts as I was when I started which is also good and I’m already starting to notice some definition in my arms and legs. My legs are near solid as a rock, being so big those have always been strong and almost cut, even when I was fat.

My fight trainer called me last night wanting me to fight in January at the Clash In the Cage in Lawrenceburg, KY. I’m thinking about going for it. My team thinks I would do well and I do too. That first time is going to be crazy.

I’m going to see about bringing up Dave “Big Country” Hess to my boxing gym to start training with me every day and see how things go before giving a firm confirmation on my fight, but I want to do it.  I wanted to fight in the Caged Inferno as my debut but now I have to do Clash first. Its kind of like their stepping stone which is actually cool.

We’ll see. What do you think? Should I go for broke and see how well I do or should I wait a bit longer?

Post your comments!

Soreness is starting to fade.

Things are going well so far in weight training. I’m already up in weight by 20+ lbs depending on what I’m doing and I’m doing more reps. It may sound crazy but I looked in the mirror this morning and noticed how much my body is changing. I’m still at 275 but I’m still losing fat which is PERFECT!

My biggest goal right now is dropping me entire belly and seeing some damn abs. Thursday I had my full weight training session ending with 250 crunches on the floor and 150 on the crunch machine, 50 in each angle. My abs and back muscles are still really sore since Thursday which is actually a good thing.

I’ve also noticed the traffic of this blog going up a bit. Please leave comments, ask questions. I’d love to help anywhere I can.

Pretty soon we are going to take some good pictures and compare them with my before pics. Should be interesting. I can’t wait.

I cant feel my legs!!!

Had weight training today and I can’t feel my legs. My arms are wobbly and I need to go to the bathroom. I’m scared…

Help me?

Soooo sleepy.

Yesterday I pretty much slept all day long. A girlfriend of mine came over at 2am and drained my energy 3 times, haha. The next day I was so sore AND exausted I slept the majority of the day and into the night.

Today I woke up feeling sore still but not near as bad as the day before. I just got back from the gym after training with Dion. I did some blocking/counter drills with some of the other fighters. It was pretty fun. Then Dion and I worked on pads a bit. Dion is great with boxing pads but I’m not sure he understands knees and elbows yet. We kind of make stuff up as we go along. I think in time we will get a solid system down. Overall I would like to keep moving up into training with Rob. He’s the man who knows the boxing and MMA game VERY well considering he trains Rich Franklin and other UFC guys. I’m not ready for him yet I dont think but in time as my conditioning improves and all my basics are solid he may help.

Rob actually test drove my new Benzo today after training. He loved it almost as much as I do! I drives a sleek black Bimmer. I drive a sleep white Benzo…who would win a race? hehe Come on Rob, lets run em!

New fight team pic.

Here is a picture of me and my fight team. Awesome group of guys. This was taken at Caged Inferno 3 in Kentucky.

I’m the one with his hiad poking out in the far back that looks like hes standing on something.

Muai Thai training tonight.

Tonight was cool. Mojo Horne came to the gym and trained a small group of us in some Muai Thai.

We worked on clinching and knees to the point that I have a knot on my knee. Mojo told me I’ve improved quite a bit since the last time we trained a month or so ago. I can’t wait to show off my elbows. heh

We did a lot of drills. Throwing 50 knees up and down a line, lots of Thai bag work etc.

I can’t wait for the weekend when I finally get a break! My entire body is so sore it hurt to take a shit today. I’m not kidding. AND I have weight training again tomorrow.

Gotta work through the pains…

First day of Weights~!

Well, my first day at lifting weights was today. I’ve never lifted weights in my life. Ever!

It was an interesting experience. I now know what people mean by “Love the burn!” and “No pain, no gain!” haha.

We did bench presses, lunges, triceps, legs etc. I really dont know what all we did, I just did what I was told.

I’m really sore today so I can’t imagine how sore I will be tomorrow. Thrusday we do weights again AND boxing training so that is going to get interesting.

Trained with Dion today.

I trained with Dion for the first time today. He’s another trainer at Boxing4 Fitness, funny dude. I was sick today so I didn’t run the mile outside but I did everything else. We did a lot of knees and elbows to thepads and Dion was hilarious about it. Everytime I did a combothat ended with an elbow he freaked out talking about being able to hear them. He was actually scared because I had to chase him all over the place. He finally switched to bigger pads and kept them way out. haha

It was a cool day, nothing major but it was fun.

Tomorrow at noon is my first weight training day. I’m going to be sore as hell!! Bring it!

273 lbs today. Now things get heavy!

This past weekend was my last weekend I would allow myself to go out and drink.

Training starts 5 days a week this week. Weight training, BJJ, Muai Thai and Boxing. I’m going to be a zombie for the first several weeks I’m sure as my body gets used to furthering its development.

At least I can start back on my suppliments and see how things progress.

300 lbs of solid rock, here I come!

Another cardio day.

Ran another mile today, cut almost a minute off my time from last week.

Did some wierd drills, pullups etc. Today wasn’t terribly difficult but my trainer was also sick today so I think he took things easy on me too. haha

Didn’t even put on the gloves yesterday.

I got to the gym and Josh told me how much pain I was going to be in. haha

We did cross training that started with seeing how fast I could run a mile. I think it took 11 minutes, in boxing shoes… The goal is a 7 minute mile. Then we did some shadow boxing followed up with some kind of squat lunges on some kind of short box. Some corss over push ups then pull ups and something else.

It doesn’t like like a lot but it kicked my ass. I’m not as sore this morning as I thought I was going to be and I’m actually looking forward to seeing how much better I do next time around.

Been a while…275lbs

It’s been a while since my last update.

I went to the boxing 4 fitness gym today. It’s been about a week and a half since I’ve done anything. I let myself recover fully. No pains or grunts out of me over the past couple weeks. I went into the gym and not only did I have my mouthpiece in the whole time but I didn’t get winded once. I thought it would be the opposite but I think a week and a half off did me some good as far as cardio is concerned.

I got a call today from a fight promoter in Dallas wanting me to fight Dan Severn in March. Not only would Dan not fight me because I’m so young (29 in Nov) but I told the guy I haven’t even had my first amatuer fight yet. The guy thinks that just because I’m so big it will be good for the crowd. I won’t be talked into being a punch dummy for someone until I’m ready to beat the guy. Anything could happen in the MMA game but Dan is a wrestler and I’m just starting to work on my wrestling. I also have about 25-35 lbs of muscle weight to gain before I’ll even consider stepping into the cage.

I did just bet my buddy that if he could quit smoking I’ll have my first fight on Dec 2 as part of the Caged Inferno 4. I doubt he will do it but if he does, I’ll know within the next couple days how hard I need to start training. haha

Fight training – Was cool.

I went to the G-Force fight gym Saturday morning and really enjoyed myself. I was paired up with another big guy and tapped him out as soon as we started rolling. It was cool and although he was big, he didn’t have much jiu jitsu experience either. It was nice though. I’ve been getting at least one tapout every training session which is much better than being the test dummy I was before. I’m slowly grasping the various moves.

My defense on the other hand is getting pretty good and that honestly is my biggest concern. If I can defend a submission it will give me more opportunities to get back up and bang.

It was nice to see everyone at the fight gym again. Lots of good guys. This coming weekend we are going down to Caged Inferno 3. Another fight show will pass without my fighting in it, but my time is coming. I’m looking forward to starting my weight training as soon as my trainer gets back from Washington…

Jiu-Jitsu training last night..

I was tapped out quite a bit last night but I still did pretty well. Lots of arm bars and key locks. No chokes though. I was complimented on my rear defense but my arms need better defending.

I start weight training as soon as my trainer gets back from Washington where he will begin testing for the FBI. Cool stuff.

Overall training went well, my arm and neck feel like I was mangled under a truck but it’s all good.

Got into a bar fight.

I dont know what makes some people start shit in bars, drunken stoopers, ego, I’m not sure.

Some guy walked up to my buddy and myself while we were eating pizza and just grabbed it and started eating it, started calling me a pussy etc. I told him if he was looking for a fight he came to the right guy. He said he wasn’t looking for a fight and I asked if we were cool, he said yes and shook my hand.

Then the asshole starts saying, “I would have kicked your pussy ass” and I just turned around and said “What the fuck is your problem!” and he smiled and smacked me on the chest, so I smacked him back pretty hard. He pulled back and swung, and I unloaded on him. He started to fall back and one of the bartenders jumped on my back and the other security folks jumped in and grabbed the other guy, the guy on my back let go and jumped on the other guy.

Once people started grabbing me I stopped hitting the asshole, I didn’t want to go to jail or anything. Not worth it. Once everything was all over all the bartenders apologized to me because the one thought I started it. He was really just anxious to see if he could take me. I’m a regular there and everyone knows me. The manager came up to me an dasked what happened and if I wanted the guy to go to jail and I said no way. That was the most fun I’ve had in a while and even though he swung first I provoked him a bit. hehe

So overall, the guy acted like a tough guy but he never got a hit on me. I rocked him a couple times and the cavalry jumped in before I could finish him. I was pretty drunk too.

The guy ended up raising hell outside with the cops and went to jail anyway..

Ah well. One night of drunken street training. haha

Don’t start bar fights regardless of how big you are, especially when you’re drunk. It won’t turn out to be your night regardless of what happens.

Peace.