Theodorou: TUF finale a marathon, not a sprint

Elias Theodorou joins Showdown Joe Ferraro to talk about fighting in The Ultimate Fighter finale.

The stylistic matchup for The Ultimate Fighter Nations middleweight final between Elias Theodorou and Sheldon Westcott should mimic the running style of each athlete.

“He’s a sprinter; I’m a marathon runner,” Theodorou told Sportsnet in a phone interview. “I love being in the cage. I don’t mind it going the whole way because I know I’ve got pace for days, where Sheldon wants to get in and out as soon as possible.”

Westcott responded: “He’s right, but I can sprint for a while.”

Theodorou feels the TUF tournament is a marathon in nature and his style — a style that has resulted in a perfect 8-0 pro record — will get the job done.

Wednesday night in a featured bout at the TUF Nations Finale, we’ll find out which approach is more effective in this particular race toward a six-figure UFC contract.


PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch the live TUF Nations Finale Wednesday with a UFC Central preview at 4 p.m. EST, prelims starting at 5 p.m. EST, and the main card at 7 p.m. EST on Sportsnet 360


While Westcott reached the finals of the popular MMA reality show by dismantling Dan Kelly and Vik Grujic in less than two minutes combined, Theodorou went the distance in unanimous decision wins over Zein Saliba and Tyler Manawaroa.

Since filming concluded, Theodorou, who provided Sportsnet with weekly blogs about his experience on the show, has travelled far and wide to prepare for the biggest fight of his life.

Though his main gym is the Headrush Training Center in Toronto, the 25-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native visits several gyms across the Greater Toronto Area to improve every facet of his game. This time, in addition to his standard GTA globe-trotting, Theodorou spent three weeks at the famous Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand with a group of fighters that included Team Canada coach Patrick Cote and Team Australia welterweight Richard Walsh.

Theodorou believes his grappling is a strength and admitted he put some extra emphasis on striking for this training camp. He enlisted the help of legendary Chute Boxe striking coach Sergio Cunha plus Master Yod Wilek, a Muay Thai wizard who has worked with Georges St-Pierre in the past.

“We were met with open arms from Tiger Muay Thai,” Theodorou said. “They were so welcoming to not only us, but to our schedule as well. Whatever we wanted they made it happen.”

Theodorou explained that he also trained with UFC veterans Roger Huerta and Brian Ebersole, as well as a group of elite sambo fighter from Russia that shared some of Westcott’s tendencies in the cage.

“There were a lot of killers there,” said Theodorou, who unlike Westcott was injury free following the show.

The man with the self-proclaimed “best hair in MMA” is young in terms of fight years, but Theodorou has seen the early portion of his career come full circle and his journey is bookended by trips to Thailand.

“I went to Tiger Muay Thai about four years ago,” he explained. “I went there right out of college as pretty much a nobody, but then to go back there as a TUF Nations finalist with Patrick Cote, it was a surreal moment.”

If you ever meet Theodorou you’ll notice the abundance of energy he carries with him, something you might not recognize just from watching his fights.

“My coach always jokes around that I have such bad A.D.D. that I need a classroom’s worth of Ritalin,” Theodorou said. “The only time I really have focus is when I’m in the cage and that’s why I was born to do this.”

In fact, both middleweight finalists say they were born to fight. And based on the fact each man possesses the attitude, dedication and physical tools necessary to become a UFC star, both fighters are correct. They were born to do this.

However, only one was born to be an “Ultimate Fighter.” On Wednesday, we find out if it’s the marathon runner or the sprinter.

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