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Rory Markham, a current UFC fighter with a 16-5 professional MMA record, will be once again training out of Overtime MMA and working as a member of the Overtime MMA coaching staff. He will be teaching Muay Thai classes every Wednesday at 6:45 pm beginning January 20th, 2010.
A martial arts buff from the time he was a child, Rory made his pro debut in MMA in 2003. He made his name as an MMA fighter with violent knockout power, fighting throughout the Midwest until he signed with the IFL in 2006. In 2008, Markham made his UFC debut in UFC Fight Night: Irvin vs. Silva with a devastating headkick knockout that won him the Knockout of the Night Award. He fought most recently in UFC 95 where he suffered a loss to Dan Hardy, before which he suffered a collapsed lung.
"I knew there was something wrong on the night of the fight," said Rory, speaking about the fight publicly. "My throat had swelled far beyond its normal size. I thought it was just nerves going into a fight of this magnitude. I would later come to find the swelling was a result of air escaping from my lung and residing in my throat.
"Knowing I wasn't going to be fighting at even 50% that night, I went on, hoping my fortitude and knock out ability would bring me the victory," continued Markham. "Having the utmost belief in myself even at 50% that night, and then having that taken from me, was hard to put behind me. I can say that it is now a lesson of the past. These lessons that I have acquired throughout my career, I hope to pass along to my students at Overtime MMA."
In an upcoming article with Sam Sheridan, Markham will detail for his fans for the first time the full story of what he went through the night of UFC 95 and during its aftermath.
Overtime MMA is very happy to be a platform for Rory to re-energize his career.
"I think Rory needed a little bit of a rest mentally and physically after what he went through with his last fight," said Overtime MMA's Koy Kosek. "I talked with him last week, and I could tell that the fire is back now. He's totally focused on training hard and getting back to the top as an MMA fighter. I'm excited to have him back in our gym and to have us be part of his training camp. I'm just as elated to have him back here as our Muay Thai instructor on Wednesday nights, because he was very popular with our members when he instructed here previously. We still have people asking about him."
For a list of Rory Markham's credentials, please see our "Instructors" page.
Rory Markham's next fight will be in the UFC, but has not yet been publicly announced.
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