2004 Judo Olympian Dr. Rhadi Ferguson

Following Hector Lombard’s UFC debut loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 last month Bleacher Report writer Ed Kapp did an interview with 2004 Olympic Judoka Dr. Rhadi Ferguson about the fight. Dr. Ferguson, who is a Judo and BJJ Black Belt, Strength and Conditioning Coach and former American Top Team member, was critical of the coaching Lombard received between rounds from his trainer Conan Silviera, calling it “almost delusional”. This in turn elicited a response from American Top Team General Manager Richie Guerrero.

In Guerrero’s statement posted on the UG, he stated:

“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes leading up to a fight that influences the 20 second sound clip you hear between rounds. Sometimes what you hear may be indicative of a coaching error and sometimes you are only seeing one very small piece of a big puzzle that is impossible for an outsider to fully understand. Coaches, like fighters, often go back and review their performances, good and bad. I’m not going to defend or criticize Conan here as he has already spoken on the matter. But I will say that, since some of your infomercials come in the form of journalistic opinion, you probably should have disclosed that Conan asked you to stay away from the ATT gym over a year ago because some of the fighters/coaches didn’t like the way you handled yourself and marketed yourself.

“I’m not going to debate whether those opinions were valid and I’m not saying your opinions are affected by what happened , I am, however, saying that I think it’s fair to mention what happened in light of your comments.”

We spoke with Dr. Ferguson about Guerrero’s statements. This is part 1 of that conversation:

Stay tuned for part 2 of our interview with Dr. Ferguson…

Ed Kapp also followed up with Dr. Ferguson.

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson is a recognized High Performance Enhancement Specialist centered in education, business and sport. Utilizing his proven background as an Olympian and lecturing motivator, Dr. Ferguson course corrects systems, modifies curriculum initiatives and constructs strategic framework toward improving performance and
elevating desired outcomes. For more information visit: http://www.TheTruthAboutMMA.com and http://www.DrRhadiFerguson.com.

Disclosure: In addition to the coaching, teaching and everything else he does, Dr. Rhadi Ferguson is also a contributing video journalist, op-ed writer, and fight analysis consultant for ProMMAnow.com.

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