Time for some change

Posted by Matthew Wheeler

Mar 15

Ryan Bader, CB Dalloway, and Aaron Simpson all have been reported to have left their home gym of Arizona Combat Sports all coming off of current UFC wins. No word yet on which gym they are moving to but the rumor mill is churning. Ryan Bader is rumored to be fighting Thiago Silva somewhere around UFC 114-116 which is a huge step up for him in my opinion. I have always said that AZCS has been a little behind the curve when it comes to striking their best striker would be ex golden gloves boxer Jamie Varner. I think that maybe they feel they need to mix it up and Ryan defiantly has had striking issues in all of his UFC fights minus the Vinny Tuf Finale.

Honestly I think this is a great move, and if Ryan ends up at AKA with his close former ASU wrestling buddy Cain Velasquez he will be a definite force in the LHW division, who is still a young prospect. Thiago is a huge fight for him but has shown a weakness against wrestlers. If he could work on his striking to hold him over till it hits the mat this guy will be top 5 LHW for sure. Same with Dalloway and Simpson yet I think they need a lot more work (extreme couture would fit well for them). It’s good to test the waters and get help from many camps if you’re having a constant problem every fight, instead of staying 100% loyal to one. Good on them and I wish them farewell from AZ and best of luck in everything.

Jamie Varner’s response via UG forum;

“I’ve been at AZ combat for 6 years now this gym builds fighters from the ground up! None of those guys would be where they are with out there training partners and the Lallys! Some douche bags like to talk shit but our gym is battle tested and proven! When Riggs left he started losing and got cut from the UFC. When Fickett got kicked out he started losing and got kicked out of the UFC! I’m very interested to see what happens with those guys I wish them nothing but the best in there careers, but they made a HUGE mistake!”

Written by: Matthew Wheeler (Staff Writer)