Hey everybody!
My name is Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil and I’m a professional MMA fighter.
I’m scheduled to return to the cage at CES MMA 33 on March 11 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., live on AXS TV against Dennis Olson, a former teammate of mine.
Leading up to my fight, Pro MMA Now asked me if I’d be interested in sharing my thoughts leading up to the big day, and I was excited to get down to business.
I don’t look like what people picture in their heads as a stereotypical MMA fighter, so people are generally surprised when I tell them I fight for a living. I also wrestle, but that’s a different blog for a different day.
Anyway, here’s the story I tell them: I was a really aggressive kid growing up. I was completely different now than I was — MMA really re-directed my life and changed it for the better, making me a really focused person who’s dedicated to being the best I can be every day.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’m currently working on fighting my way back to the UFC, where I landed a few years ago after a stint on The Ultimate Fighter.
I’d hate to think people assess me based on those old fights, because I feel I’m at least 10-times better now than I was back then.
Also, I recently moved up to 185 pounds, which is a much better fit for me, and I train every day at Tim Burrell’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Providence, R.I., and at TriForce MMA, where I’m trained by my stud boxing coach, “Diamond” Dave Keefe.
This is just a bit of a crash course, introduction from 10,000 feet, but I’m looking forward to writing a lot more and letting everyone in on my training.
Until next time,
“Cold Steel”