Former Boxing Champ Rahman Headed to MMA

“Even though he’s an older boxer, with his hands, he’ll be head and shoulders above everybody in that division,” Lytle said. “If he can keep it on his feet. If he hasn’t been doing extensive work on takedown defense, he’ll struggle. In my honest opinion, he’ll beat up some guys and knock some people out, and when they try and step him up against a guy with a good game plan, he’ll get taken down and lose.”

The ranges in boxing are deceptive realms that don’t easily translate into MMA, explained Lytle.

“It’s way different. He isn’t gonna be used to a boxing range where the jab is there, because you can’t stand there and just jab. Just out of jab range, where you’re safe in boxing, is kick range,” Lytle said. “Luckily for him he’s not gonna try and out-jab a guy, he’s gonna try and land a big right hand. But he’s gonna have to do more than just lunging in. You can’t set things up as much with your hands in MMA.”

Eddie Alvarez feels that Rahman will need a serious regimen of grappling training to have a shot at winning more than a few set-up type fights.

“It takes a lot of years to get your muscle memory and body movements used to jiu-jitsu,” said Alvarez, whose battle with Tatsuya Kawajiri was Sherdog.com’s 2008 Fight of the Year. “I think what’s more important for him is to force guys and keep them standing up. Where he’s potent and powerful. He’ll need to learn how to throw punches, sprawl and keep things standing up. He don’t have to learn jiu-jitsu if he becomes dominant at that. If he can keep a guy standing up and trade, he’s got a shot.

“If you ever watched his fights, the guy’s got a chin,” added Alvarez. “Not a lot of guys in MMA are gonna want to trade with him. But what’s different is anybody can get knocked out at any time. A very technical striker gets beat by a less technical striker. You can’t come in and just say ‘I got superior striking.’”

And if Rahman thinks a streetfighting background is enough to deal with grappling?

“In that case this might be a disaster for him. He might be committing career suicide,” Alvarez said. “In MMA, it ain’t long before a one-dimensional fighter gets found out. You have to have all aspects of it.”

Heavyweight veteran Heath Herring concurred with Lytle in that Rahman’s first opponents should be chosen wisely while he gets up to speed.

“I would love to fight a guy like that. Just because I think guys like that are a little bit overconfident. And I like fights people would want to watch,” Herring said.

The big question marks for Rahman –- how he deals with grappling, the muay Thai clinch, timing the leg-check on an 80 mph kick, and the rest of the MMA bag of tricks, is largely dependent on who’s in there with him and what they’re bringing.

“You’re gonna want guys that want to stand,” Herring said. “If they choose his opponents wisely, he can win. But to just expect he’s gonna run in and dominate with boxing alone is foolish. Saying his streetfighting is enough for wrestling? That might just be a marketing ploy. If you take a straight wrestler, I think he’s much more equipped to do this sport than a boxer.”

Manager Mike Roberts concurs. His firm, MMA Incorporated, manages about 30 fighters, including Urijah Faber, Dan Henderson, James Irvin, and others. After signing NCAA 2001 champ Mark Munoz (who fights Matt Hamill March 7 in the UFC), Roberts had Munoz train for a full year in MMA before making his debut.

“Rahman’s not gonna learn wrestling or jiu-jitsu in two or three months. If I were him, I’d start working on basic takedown defense, and scrambling to get back up. He’s going to learn nothing in jiu-jitsu in three months,” Roberts said. “He could learn takedown defense and scrambling to stay up. If I were his manager I’d make sure he got a fighter that was a striker. I think three months is a little fast if he’s gonna take MMA serious. I definitely would be very selective on his opponents, and have him take his time. Without serious grappling training, he’s going into it with the wrong mental attitude. And the first guy that fights him and takes him down, he’s gonna be lost.”

How do you think Rahman would do in MMA? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. Your letter could appear in the next edition of “The Doggy Bag.”