The Road Well Traveled - A rising star in MMA makes his UFC debut

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The Road Well Traveled - A rising star in MMA makes his UFC debut
by Steve Alley, of www.MartialArtsRadio.com



For entire article click here.

They say America can be described as a melting pot. When one ponders the many opportunities in this country that offer education, financial freedom, independence you begin to understand why so many come from other places. Trevor Prangley was a phenom in wrestling having arrived in the USA as a result of a scholarship offered to attend small town Northern Idaho College. His arrival here was based upon the ability to compete at the higher level in his sport of wrestling. Born in Cape Town, South Africa his is not a story of rags to riches but one remarkable opportunity to be part of a list of pioneers in one of the hottest up and coming combat sports known as “Mixed Martial Arts” or often times referred to as “No Holds Barred” fighting. Trevor Prangley came to America when he was recognized by a scout. In 1995 he was the South African National Freestyle Champion in wrestling. He was offered a scholarship and accepted which may turn out to be a great gift to all fans of the sport of mixed martial arts. Had it not been for his wrestling background and numerous accomplishments in his native country he would not be here in the USA.

In 1996 he arrived to attend College at North Idaho College and became an NJCAA All American Wrestler. In 1997 he was National runner-up. He had the wrestling skills and accomplishments that could fill a couple of pages. He had watched and learned of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and thought it was interesting. One day he went to train with Derek Cleveland and soon after started competing in mixed martial arts or “no holds barred” fighting as it was and is referred to. With a few victories under his belt he left Idaho and went to train with Guy Metzger at “The Lion’s Den” in Texas. The list of accomplishments in submission grappling, Pankration, Vale Tudo, (Portuguese for anything goes) and Submission Wrestling began to grow. So with the success this very skilled individual began making the climb upward in hopes of turning professional having amassed an amateur fight record which included 16 or more victories.

I first met Trevor Prangley in August 2002 when he fought for the third time as a professional in Denver, Colorado at a show titled Ultimate Athlete “Vengeance”. He took the fight on short notice and as I sat at the ring table and watched the fighters go back and forth in a hard fought battle it was Prangley who being cornered by Guy Metzger eventually got a unanimous decision over a game Kyle Seals. I stepped into the ring to conduct the post fight live interview and thought to myself that this individual could go places in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. He appeared to be tough and showed a lot of heart also well spoken and I remembered that bout because I was trying to prepare to ask questions that made sense to the live crowd. He made that part easy. In a period of what was at that time six years of work in wrestling, and MMA he had made it to a fight promotion that had received a good deal of media attention. But the sport was still trying it’s best to take off. The progress report was good but the pace was slow. A few months later he would fight again and win. Then some months passed and Trevor Prangley got the call from the International Fighting Championships about a tournament they would be promoting at the “Pepsi” center in Denver, Colorado. This light heavy weight tournament received a great deal of press from the loyal fans and media that had long supported MMA. The product and the talent showcased at this event was excellent. Some of the top up and comers were scheduled to compete in the elimination tournament as well as some world class fights on the under card. The IFC had its “Global Domination” tournament in September of 2003. Prangley fought and was defeated by the eventual tournament winner Renato “Babalu” Sobral. It was the first time he would know defeat as a professional.

I had taken an interest in the fact that Trevor Prangley was once again in Denver, Colorado perhaps on the verge of something that would launch his fight career to the very elite in the sport. He had put in the time and of course the travel. The thousands of miles from his country to reside here. The countless hours training with all of those that had helped along the way. Still the progress was slow. He took a couple more fights with those that trained with top schools and won. He had partnered with his friend Derek Cleveland to form one of the upstart schools in the sport out of Couer D’ Alene, Idaho known as Lions Den-Team Idaho branch. He and Cleveland had even done some fight promoting of their own with smaller amateur shows in the Northern Idaho area.

In January of 2004 we met again when Prangley made short work of his opponent at the fight promotion known as the “Kick Down”. This was the third time we had met. Each time it was regarding a bout he had contracted for which required he fight in Denver. In March 2004 he fought a top fighter in Andre Semenov and picked up a unanimous decision victory at the EE Russia vs. USA in Atlantic City. So after 7 plus years in the USA and close to two dozen fights he still waited patiently for an offer from one of the premier fight shows to surface. After all he had literally defeated everyone that had been put in front of him with exception to the winner of the tournament last September in Denver.

On May 24, 2004 the Ultimate Fighting Championship sent out a press release which confirmed that Trevor Prangley will face Curtis Stout at UFC 48: Pay Back on June 19, 2004 in Las Vegas. The opportunity to fight in the premier show in America. All of the hard work could pay off and this fighter could end his career several years down the road and many could say that he was one of the pioneers in the sport. It has not been played out. The script is not complete but the road has been well traveled. The future in Mixed Martial Arts will be good for the fans of the sport and for one Trevor Prangley whether it be in the ring or Octagon as a fighter or promoter. It has been said good things happen to good people. Good things will happen for Trevor Prangley.

Steve Alley