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UFC heavyweight Jamal Pogues has described the physical adversity he had to go through to emerge successful from his promotional debut.
While much of the focus on this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 69 event centered around the rise of Erin Blanchfield and her impressive victory over Jéssica Andrade, “Cold Blooded” wasn’t the only promising youngster who added a victory to their record.
Earlier in the main card, heavyweight newcomer Jamal Pogues made the walk to the Octagon for the very first time, having been signed to the organization following a second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
After a 14-year journey to MMA’s biggest stage that was full of ups and downs, “The Stormtrooper” made a winning start to UFC life, outpointing Josh Parisian across three rounds inside the Apex facility.
While the scorecards make for good reading in the Pogues household, with all three falling in his favor and just one of nine round scores going against him, the victory didn’t come without adversity for the 27-year-old.
Jamal Pogues Had To Dig Deep to win his UFC Debut
Post-fight, Pogues revealed inside the cage that he’d broken his hand early in the second round. And during a recent interview with MMA News’ own Curtis Calhoun, “The Stormtrooper” went into detail about how much the issue hampered his efforts.
Pogues noted that he had to make some adjustments having had his right hand rendered useless by the injury. But while he cited numerous instances of the problem preventing his offense, the heavyweight prospect did highlight one benefit — the need to rely on more than just one power shot.
“I adjusted on the fly for having a broken hand in the second round,” Pogues said. “Once I knew I broke it, I know I went for a takedown and ended up getting (it)… Then, I think I was in mount. I think I was trying to take his back and couldn’t. And I was like, going for the choke and I really couldn’t just get the squeeze. Then trying to stay mounted, I couldn’t really post on the mat… I knew once I got on top, I had to float. I couldn’t really put pressure.
“Then in the third round, trapped his wrist, bumped him over, and I think he grabbed by hand to stop me hitting, but I was like, I had no strength to get my hand out. It was just like, I got to float on top and throw some elbows in. I think I did pretty good at mixing up (and) working on just my jab when my right hand was done,” Pogues continued. “Keeping that left high kick to his face, keeping the takedowns; just adjusting… still trying to hurt him and not making him think I’m out the fight. I just (couldn’t) sit there and rely on the big right hand, so I think that was the good part.”
Although Pogues will be out of action while his stricken hand heals, he won’t be resting on his laurels, telling MMA News that he’ll be straight back in the gym to fine-tune whichever tools he can.
“(The next step is) me just getting back to the gym and keep working. Even though I got one hand, I can still work southpaw, I can still work on my jab, work on kicks, elbows,” Pogues stated. “So just not limiting (because of) my hand and getting back to work.”
What did you make of Jamal Pogues’ first UFC victory this past weekend?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
UFC heavyweight Jamal Pogues has described the physical adversity he had to go through to emerge successful from his promotional debut.
While much of the focus on this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 69 event centered around the rise of Erin Blanchfield and her impressive victory over Jéssica Andrade, “Cold Blooded” wasn’t the only promising youngster who added a victory to their record.
Earlier in the main card, heavyweight newcomer Jamal Pogues made the walk to the Octagon for the very first time, having been signed to the organization following a second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
After a 14-year journey to MMA’s biggest stage that was full of ups and downs, “The Stormtrooper” made a winning start to UFC life, outpointing Josh Parisian across three rounds inside the Apex facility.
While the scorecards make for good reading in the Pogues household, with all three falling in his favor and just one of nine round scores going against him, the victory didn’t come without adversity for the 27-year-old.
Jamal Pogues Had To Dig Deep to win his UFC Debut
Post-fight, Pogues revealed inside the cage that he’d broken his hand early in the second round. And during a recent interview with MMA News’ own Curtis Calhoun, “The Stormtrooper” went into detail about how much the issue hampered his efforts.
Pogues noted that he had to make some adjustments having had his right hand rendered useless by the injury. But while he cited numerous instances of the problem preventing his offense, the heavyweight prospect did highlight one benefit — the need to rely on more than just one power shot.
“I adjusted on the fly for having a broken hand in the second round,” Pogues said. “Once I knew I broke it, I know I went for a takedown and ended up getting (it)… Then, I think I was in mount. I think I was trying to take his back and couldn’t. And I was like, going for the choke and I really couldn’t just get the squeeze. Then trying to stay mounted, I couldn’t really post on the mat… I knew once I got on top, I had to float. I couldn’t really put pressure.
“Then in the third round, trapped his wrist, bumped him over, and I think he grabbed by hand to stop me hitting, but I was like, I had no strength to get my hand out. It was just like, I got to float on top and throw some elbows in. I think I did pretty good at mixing up (and) working on just my jab when my right hand was done,” Pogues continued. “Keeping that left high kick to his face, keeping the takedowns; just adjusting… still trying to hurt him and not making him think I’m out the fight. I just (couldn’t) sit there and rely on the big right hand, so I think that was the good part.”
Although Pogues will be out of action while his stricken hand heals, he won’t be resting on his laurels, telling MMA News that he’ll be straight back in the gym to fine-tune whichever tools he can.
“(The next step is) me just getting back to the gym and keep working. Even though I got one hand, I can still work southpaw, I can still work on my jab, work on kicks, elbows,” Pogues stated. “So just not limiting (because of) my hand and getting back to work.”
What did you make of Jamal Pogues’ first UFC victory this past weekend?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
While much of the focus on this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 69 event centered around the rise of Erin Blanchfield and her impressive victory over Jéssica Andrade, “Cold Blooded” wasn’t the only promising youngster who added a victory to their record.
Earlier in the main card, heavyweight newcomer Jamal Pogues made the walk to the Octagon for the very first time, having been signed to the organization following a second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
After a 14-year journey to MMA’s biggest stage that was full of ups and downs, “The Stormtrooper” made a winning start to UFC life, outpointing Josh Parisian across three rounds inside the Apex facility.
While the scorecards make for good reading in the Pogues household, with all three falling in his favor and just one of nine round scores going against him, the victory didn’t come without adversity for the 27-year-old.
Jamal Pogues Had To Dig Deep to win his UFC Debut
Post-fight, Pogues revealed inside the cage that he’d broken his hand early in the second round. And during a recent interview with MMA News’ own Curtis Calhoun, “The Stormtrooper” went into detail about how much the issue hampered his efforts.
Pogues noted that he had to make some adjustments having had his right hand rendered useless by the injury. But while he cited numerous instances of the problem preventing his offense, the heavyweight prospect did highlight one benefit — the need to rely on more than just one power shot.
“I adjusted on the fly for having a broken hand in the second round,” Pogues said. “Once I knew I broke it, I know I went for a takedown and ended up getting (it)… Then, I think I was in mount. I think I was trying to take his back and couldn’t. And I was like, going for the choke and I really couldn’t just get the squeeze. Then trying to stay mounted, I couldn’t really post on the mat… I knew once I got on top, I had to float. I couldn’t really put pressure.
“Then in the third round, trapped his wrist, bumped him over, and I think he grabbed by hand to stop me hitting, but I was like, I had no strength to get my hand out. It was just like, I got to float on top and throw some elbows in. I think I did pretty good at mixing up (and) working on just my jab when my right hand was done,” Pogues continued. “Keeping that left high kick to his face, keeping the takedowns; just adjusting… still trying to hurt him and not making him think I’m out the fight. I just (couldn’t) sit there and rely on the big right hand, so I think that was the good part.”
Although Pogues will be out of action while his stricken hand heals, he won’t be resting on his laurels, telling MMA News that he’ll be straight back in the gym to fine-tune whichever tools he can.
“(The next step is) me just getting back to the gym and keep working. Even though I got one hand, I can still work southpaw, I can still work on my jab, work on kicks, elbows,” Pogues stated. “So just not limiting (because of) my hand and getting back to work.”
What did you make of Jamal Pogues’ first UFC victory this past weekend?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
While much of the focus on this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 69 event centered around the rise of Erin Blanchfield and her impressive victory over Jéssica Andrade, “Cold Blooded” wasn’t the only promising youngster who added a victory to their record.
Earlier in the main card, heavyweight newcomer Jamal Pogues made the walk to the Octagon for the very first time, having been signed to the organization following a second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
After a 14-year journey to MMA’s biggest stage that was full of ups and downs, “The Stormtrooper” made a winning start to UFC life, outpointing Josh Parisian across three rounds inside the Apex facility.
While the scorecards make for good reading in the Pogues household, with all three falling in his favor and just one of nine round scores going against him, the victory didn’t come without adversity for the 27-year-old.
Jamal Pogues Had To Dig Deep to win his UFC Debut
Post-fight, Pogues revealed inside the cage that he’d broken his hand early in the second round. And during a recent interview with MMA News’ own Curtis Calhoun, “The Stormtrooper” went into detail about how much the issue hampered his efforts.
Pogues noted that he had to make some adjustments having had his right hand rendered useless by the injury. But while he cited numerous instances of the problem preventing his offense, the heavyweight prospect did highlight one benefit — the need to rely on more than just one power shot.
“I adjusted on the fly for having a broken hand in the second round,” Pogues said. “Once I knew I broke it, I know I went for a takedown and ended up getting (it)… Then, I think I was in mount. I think I was trying to take his back and couldn’t. And I was like, going for the choke and I really couldn’t just get the squeeze. Then trying to stay mounted, I couldn’t really post on the mat… I knew once I got on top, I had to float. I couldn’t really put pressure.
“Then in the third round, trapped his wrist, bumped him over, and I think he grabbed by hand to stop me hitting, but I was like, I had no strength to get my hand out. It was just like, I got to float on top and throw some elbows in. I think I did pretty good at mixing up (and) working on just my jab when my right hand was done,” Pogues continued. “Keeping that left high kick to his face, keeping the takedowns; just adjusting… still trying to hurt him and not making him think I’m out the fight. I just (couldn’t) sit there and rely on the big right hand, so I think that was the good part.”
Although Pogues will be out of action while his stricken hand heals, he won’t be resting on his laurels, telling MMA News that he’ll be straight back in the gym to fine-tune whichever tools he can.
“(The next step is) me just getting back to the gym and keep working. Even though I got one hand, I can still work southpaw, I can still work on my jab, work on kicks, elbows,” Pogues stated. “So just not limiting (because of) my hand and getting back to work.”
What did you make of Jamal Pogues’ first UFC victory this past weekend?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
