Mike "The Marine" Richman celebrates after knocking out Chris Horodecki at Bellator 64.
Back then, he had a good career going as a Marine sergeant. He enjoyed being in the Corps, and with his four-year enlistment up in a few months, he could see himself becoming a drill instructor and a Marine lifer.
But Richman also dreamed of being a professional mixed martial artist. And despite having never fought in an amateur match and having almost no formal MMA training beyond what he’d learned in the Corps , he was confident he had the talent and toughness to make it. So, to the amazement of some of his fellow infantrymen, he left the Corps and returned home to Minnesota.
Almost five years later, Richman has made his dream come true. The featherweight fighter is 12-1 as a pro and under contract with the Bellator promotion. His first fight in Bellator in April was a shocking first-round knockout of veteran Chris Horodecki, a win that caught the eye of MMA observers and solidified his pro career.
“It was definitely a career-defining moment for me,” Richman said, noting that it was the first time in Horodecki’s 22-fight career that he’d been KO’d. ”It was huge to win in that fashion.”
Richman, 26, said his next fight in Bellator will be September, but that the details are still being ironed out. In the meantime, he’s training for his second professional boxing match — he won his first fight via TKO in 2011 — next Saturday in Minneapolis. A longtime fan of professional boxing, Richman sees the sport as a way to make some money and keep his skills sharp for MMA. Anyone who saw the Horodecki fight saw Richman’s boxing on full display, where the more seasoned fighter was unable to match up with the former Marine’s hand speed and punching power. Confidence man
It was more than a gut feeling that led Richman to believe he could make it as a fighter. As someone with a lifelong interest in combat sports, he’d thought hard about what it took to be a fighter. And when he examined himself, he believed he had the tools necessary to be successful. “I think fighters are born, not made,” Richman said. “A lot of people can watch mixed martial arts and say ‘Hey I can do that.’ But for me it was a legitimate feeling. I thought I had the skill set to do it.”
Richman during a promotion ceremony in 2005.
A rifleman with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, and 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Richman served in the Corps from 2004-2008. He deployed to Anbar province three times during some of the most violent days of the Iraq War. As a fighter, he goes by the nickname “The Marine” and he looks back on his time in uniform with pride, as well as a bit of wistfulness.
“I miss the Marine Corps. I miss the smell of Camp Pendleton,” Richman said. “I was one of those gung-ho Marines who enjoyed my time in the Corps.”
After leaving the Corps in January 2008, Richman wasted no time starting his new career. He found a local gym via the Internet and started training. Four months later, he fought in his first pro fight — Richman believed he didn’t have time to fight in amateur bouts — and won via first-round TKO. In less than a year he was 5-0 and began getting some local notice. He hired a manager and began training at different gyms.
“At that time I was fighting on pure athleticism and some ground talent,” Richman said. “I was nowhere near as polished as I am now.”
Learning from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Still undefeated as a pro, Richman tried out for season 12 of the UFC’s reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2010. He impressed enough to be selected to fight in the elimination contests on the show’s first episode. But in the win-or-go-home fight, Richman came up short.
The loss was a tremendous disappointment to Richman. TUF has served as a vehicle for many fighters to propel their careers, and Richman had been so close.
“It was definitely the low point of my MMA career,” Richman said. “It was definitely an eye-opener on what I needed to [work on]. … There was so many holes in my game. [My career] maybe shot up too quick.”
Prior to TUF, Richman had only once fought past the first round. He’d also never experienced the nerves that come with fighting in front of a big audience — UFC President Dana White and fighters Josh Koscheck and George St. Pierre were among those watching. “It’s a different type of nerves,” said Richman, who felt as though he now had to mentally prepare for fights with the focus similar to that of other professional athletes.
As for his fight game, Richman realized that his takedown defense needed work, as did his ability to get up if he felt as though he couldn’t win the fight on the ground. Since the TUF experience, Richman has been 5-1, with his only setback coming via decision. He found a home gym at The Academy in Brooklyn Center, Minn., under the tutelage of coach Greg Nelson. Earlier this year Richman signed with Bellator, making the married father of two a full-time professional fighter.
Nelson, who has trained and cornered UFC champions Dave Menne, Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar, has worked with Richman for about a year. He describes Richman as a humble fighter with the skills and attitude to become elite in his weight class.
“I really think that he can go a long way because he has such discipline and great focus,” Nelson said.
Nelson, like Richman, said the fighter has come a long way in his takedown defense, which in turn has allowed him to be a more confident striker. Nelson credited Richman’s ability to study specific fighters and successfully emulate their style as key to his continued improvement. One fighter in particular is boxer Prince Naseem Hamed, the former WBO, WBC and IBF featherweight champion who went 36-1 in his career. With Naseem as his model, Richman has “catapulted [his striking] up to a different level,” Nelson said.
“He’s really got deceptive hands, he’s fast, he’s really comfortable in the pocket,” Nelson said. “As far as MMA fighters go, his hands are really head and shoulder above many fighters out there.”
Nelson said the ability to weather adversity in training or in the ring also give Richman an edge, and he credits Richman’s experience in the Corps for honing the personality traits necessary to excel in MMA .
“He’s very mature,” Nelson said of Richman. “He’s very easy to deal with. Nothing really ruffles his feathers.”
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