Where did things go wrong for Rick “the Horror” Story? As a highly touted prospect, Story began a run in the UFC that would have many calling him a future title contender. Fighting out of his home state of Washington, Story put Vancouver gym, Brave Legion, on the map with his 6-1 UFC start. However, as quickly as the contender label came, it was thrown aside. An inconsistent string of wins and losses saw Story plucked from the top of the mountain and set back down at the start of the climb. With the hype train derailed and his 30th birthday fast approaching, Story will be faced with the task of climbing back to the top of the mountain. The journey will begin on July 16th in Atlantic City, New Jersey as Story takes on the hard hitting, Muay Thai specialist John “Doomsday” Howard.
Looking back on how Story started his UFC career it is easy to see why he had people so excited. In his first fight with the promotion at UFC 99, Story had a back and forth war with John Hathaway. This was the first bout on the card and many people felt that it deserved Fight of the Night honors. While Story was on the losing side of this scrap it wouldn’t be long before he proved that he could rebound from a tough loss. Just 3 months later Story was back in the cage and ready to show the UFC brass why they had called him up to the big show in the first place. That night at UFC 103, Rick Story turned in a performance against Brian Foster that left fans begging to see more. After a wild striking exchange in the early part of the first round, Story took control with his powerful wrestling. Story didn’t make it out of the first round unscathed, but it was clear that the momentum was on his side. Story immediately took control in the second round and secured a choke that would win him Submission of the Night. To make things even sweeter, the bout was named Fight of the Night and Story would double up on bonuses. Story would go on to win six straight fights with notable victories over Thiago Alves, and future UFC Welterweight Champion, Johny Hendricks. It was at this point in his UFC career that the road would begin to get rocky.
Following what would be his most impressive career run, Story suffered back to back losses for the first time in his professional career. The road ahead only had more turbulence; Story would alternate wins and losses and never reestablished his dominance. This inconsistency would have many wondering if Story would be looking to make a change in training camps. While Story has spent some time with Tri-Star Gym in Canada, he has made no indication that he plans to leave Brave Legion. The head trainer at Brave Legion is Pat White and some of his former coaches and fighters have been highly critical of his coaching style. In an interview on The Verbal Submission podcast, one of Rick Story’s former coaches, Phil Claud, made pointed comments expressing his desire to see Story change camps and split from White so that he might realize his full potential. In the interview, Claud said, “I’ll be very clear, this is my opinion with Rick Story. Rick Story’s biggest issue is the coaches he has surrounding him don’t know what they’re doing. There’ve been great coaches that have come out of that organization including myself. I worked with Rick Story and Mike Pierce when they were at Brave Legion together. Ultimately I left and Pat White didn’t want me to work with Rick anymore.” If Story does in fact stay put and cannot regain his old form it is likely he will be cut from the UFC roster.
As Story’s fight fast approaches the comments regarding his fight camp will only get louder. If Story manages to silence the critics and can return to the dominant form that got him such high praise early on in his career the doubters will be left without a leg to stand on. The question remains, where did things go wrong for Rick “The Horror” Story? The simple answer is that nobody really knows. All that matters now is, how can Story prove to the world that nothing has?
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