The big time just wasn’t to be for former Sherwood Gardens resident and Brakpan Wrestling Club champion JP Buys – for now.
The former Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) interim flyweight champion missed out on an incredible opportunity on August 22 to earn himself a contract with the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The 21-year-old fighter recently relinquished his interim EFC flyweight title to compete in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series” in a flyweight bout against previously released UFC fighter Joby Sanchez at the Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas, in the USA.
Sanchez defeated Buys via technical knockout (TKO), two minutes and 28 seconds into the second bout.
In the first round, both fighters had a competitive contest and were constantly scrambling and reversing each other’s positions on the ground.
In the second round, Sanchez began to win those grappling exchanges and he was able to take Buys’ back, flatten him out and land enough ground-and-pound to force the referee to stop the bout.
Initially, Buys was in the USA training with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento to take on Californian fighter Josh Paiva in a flyweight bout at the Jackson Ranch Casino in California on August 5 at a fight show called GKO10 (Global Knockout).
However, he withdrew from that bout in favour of the bigger opportunity.
Buys trained under renowned UFC retiree, Urijah Faber, at Team Alpha Male.
Asked how the fight came about, Buys said: “I was training for the August 5 fight when I was told by Urijah that I needed to meet Dana White at a Tuesday Night Contender Series in Las Vegas.”
He flew there with Urijah to watch some of the fights and to meet White.
“Not long after the fights were done I got a message from Urijah saying that I would be fighting Sanchez on August 22.
“The opportunity was too big to turn down and so I grabbed it with both hands.”
He said he definitely had a great fight and it will forever be his most memorable fight.
“I did make a few dumb decisions which caused me to burn out my legs, but I don’t want to take any credit away from Joby.
“He is a great opponent and he won fair and square.
“I think I am a much better fighter and athlete with a much higher skill set than Joby, but on the night he dug deep and did what he had to do to win.
“It was my first international fight and I feel my 16-week training camp had been way too long.
“I was overtrained and my body was finished.
“I peaked at the wrong time because I was preparing to fight the August 5 fight; however, it is what it is.
“I will be back.”
Where to now for Buys?
“Right now I need to get as many fights as I can.
“I need to build a bigger and better record and gain more experience.
“Mark my words, within the next year I will be competing in the UFC.”
Also read: Buys becomes youngest EFC title holder
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