Name: ‘Magic’ Myles Price
Club: Straight Blast Gym, Drimnagh, Dublin and Kilkenny Top Pro, Irishtown, Kilkenny
Fighting Weight: Lightweight
Given the tough nature of the sport, the road to MMA success is bound to be paved with challenges. ‘Magic’ Myles Price has had an eventful few months since JOE last spoke with him and not all the challenges he’s faced have been in the ring.
The Christmas period proved tough for Price as his 4 December bout against English fighter Mike Wilkinson on the Olympian MMA Championship card was cancelled. Injuries in contact sport are to be expected but unfortunately, can never be predicted.
While rolling in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu session, Price dislocated his elbow a week before he was due to fight, leaving him no option but to pull out. “It was sore when it happened but it never kept me away from training,” he recalls. “A few days after I was able to flick a jab with it so it meant I took it easy on certain things but never stopped training.”
When he’s not training for his own fights, Price is match-making for other fighters under his TuffNut promotion. The TuffNut “Nemesis”, event scheduled for the end of November, fell victim to the freezing weather and was cancelled.
“I really wanted it to go ahead and the fighters were really keen but we wouldn’t have had two doctors in the venue, as they couldn’t travel so it was a no go,” says Price.
Without his own fight to focus on, Price redirected his energy into finding a new venue and overhauling the fight card as some fighters from the original card had prior commitments.
‘Nemesis-Recharged’ took place two weeks after the original date. “It probably won’t be the most successful event I ever stage but we did it,” says Price. “We gave MMA fans that had paid for a ticket a show. It’s all part of the experience and lessons have been learned.”
Price in action against Mickey Doyle:
Rather than ponder the setback, Price is pushing on with TuffNut 5 ‘Bad Intentions’ on Sunday, 24 April in Whites Hotel in Wexford. With plenty of fights still in the works, the stand-out battle on the card so far is the featherweight title fight between, Brian ‘The Pikeman’ Moore and veteran of the Irish MMA circuit, Gary Morris.
Fighting in his hometown, Moore will be looking to make a big statement early in his young career. While Morris, after a brief break from the game, will look to recapture the form that brought him the Pride & Glory featherweight belt in the UK in 2009.
For Price, promoting is only a sideline and he is very much focused on getting back in the ring. After three cancellations, a bout has been agreed on Andy Ryan’s fledgling Battlezone Fighting Championships second event in March. Price will face Mike Reid, the current Clan Wars welterweight champion.
Keen to stay active, Price is also returning to his roots by looking to take some kickboxing bouts in the absence of MMA fights. The main reason for stepping up activity was an e-mail from the Russian MMA promotion, Professional Fighting Championships, inquiring as to his availability for a summer fight in Russia. ProFC has been the home of Fedor Emelianenko’s brother Aleksander.
He still has an eye on re-matching Norman Parke but both fighters schedules may not permit the super-fight from happening. Price is also likely to defend his Cage Contenders lightweight belt in 2011.
Price is quick to acknowledge the strong support structure from his coaches, Kilkenny Top Pro’s Paul Cummins and Straight Blast Gym’s John Kavanagh, his sponsor Colin Ryan at FightersPlanet.ie and his manager John Ferguson of fight.ie, The Training Room in Kilkenny and the Irish Strength Institute in Dublin. 2010 finished tough but 2011 has started promising. Price still loves what he’s doing in MMA and because he’s only turning 23 this year, he is likely to be doing it for a long time yet.
By Fergus Ryan.
