Titan Fighting 18: Rudy Bears Plans to Use Rory Markham as Launching Pad to UFC

Rudy Bears at Bellator 32

As Rudy “Bad News” Bears prepares to meet Rory Markham at Titan FC 18 on Friday night in Kansas City, Kan., he is keen to not make the same mistakes he made in his last fight for the promotion.

“I just need to go hard right out the gate,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “I kind of stalled a little bit on Jason High (in January), and there were a couple of different things I could have done differently.

“I trained real hard for that, but if you’re caught in a choke, there’s only so much you can do. I’ve been working on my submission defense a lot. Rory’s a stand-up fighter mainly – but he has some submissions too – but I’ve just kind of been working on my overall game, so I’m ready for whatever.”

Bears says he not only wants to have a good showing for himself, but also for those who follow him.

“I have my own school here in KC and I like to set a good example overall,” he said. “I like to go out there and show all my students what I expect of them: training hard for a fight, having the proper diet, and giving it your all.”

Bears feels that having a similar style to Markham’s will likely ensure that the fight will not be boring.

“I think it’s going to be an awesome fight,” he exclaimed. “I haven’t seen Rory take many shots trying to take people down, and I’m pretty much the same way.

“I’d like to think we’re a little more technical than (just hitting each other until someone falls down), but yeah, pretty much we’re both going to go in there and see who is the better striker.”

Recently Markham has spent time away from fighting and entered the film industry, which Bears thinks may give him an advantage when it comes to having the conditioning needed to win the fight.

“I plan on pushing the pace all three rounds,” stated Bears. “I don’t want to talk any smack, but hopefully he’s not too much into his acting, he’s been training his cardio, otherwise he’s in trouble.

“A lot of people work just on their striking or grappling, and yeah, it gets good, but it’s only that good until you run out of breath.”

A good showing against Markham could help put Bears on the path towards achieving his dream.

“It’s a lifetime goal of mine to fight in the UFC,” he said. “I’ve been watching it since the first one, so I want to try to get some good wins and get into the UFC.

“Win or lose I just want to go out there and give it my all, and regardless of outcome I want everyone thinking I’m a good fighter.”

Having made adjustments to shore up issues he had in his last fight, Bears is ready to have a much better outing on May 27 and give the fans a show.

“Come to Titan FC 18,” he said in closing. “You’re going to see some fireworks from my fight, for sure. All the other fights are good match-ups too, and I’m looking forward to seeing everybody there.”