Patrick Martin sure found a way to make chicken salad out of chicken, well, you know.
Martin made waves earlier this year for heckling, then fighting a decidedly losing battle to Josh Neer, the 32-year-old veteran welterweight with more than 50 professional fights under his belt.
Now, according to a Thursday report from Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting, the two have mended fences. In fact, Martin is training under Neer at Roundkick gym in Des Moines, Iowa, and competing for the Midwest Cage Championship, an organization Neer promotes.
"He got his ass whooped, but he didn't go and call the police or try to sue me or do anything dumb like that," Neer said of Martin in the article. "That's why I let him come back to the gym. It was like, 'All right, you made a mistake. You can come back and train with us.'"
Frankly, neither guy came off too well when the video surfaced in February. According to the story, one thing led to another and, after various smack talk was exchanged, Martin showed up at Roundkick to test Neer in person.
It didn't go well for Martin. And Neer (36-14-1) didn't take it easy on him, dropping several savage elbows and even soccer kicking Martin in the face as teammates pulled Neer away.
The video went viral and elicited lots of different emotions and opinions around the MMA corners of social media and beyond.
#20150225 TMZ: MMA star Josh Neer's gym fight is under investigation http://t.co/D6AXAwZvl9 pic.twitter.com/l3wuCTvUeD
— NewsFlashback (@NewsFlashback) July 14, 2015
Afterward, the two continued to trade barbs and differing versions of the story. However, bygones now appear to be bygones. Martin competes for MCC as a heavyweight and is 1-1 as a pro.
"Josh is a good dude," Martin told Raimondi. "All the controversy was a misunderstanding and just two guys getting to know one another."
With Martin having apparently worked his way into Neer's good graces, The Dentist is now gung ho on Martin's prospects, although it appeared Neer was not completely finished pushing his own side of the story.
"I ain't gonna do it again. I just don't want to get in trouble. He was threatening me," Neer said. "The thing about it is, he was way bigger than me. I fight at 170 pounds and you're a heavyweight, dude. He was threatening me and I wasn't doing anything. I was like, 'If you want to fight, come into the gym and we can settle it.'"
Josh Neer fights Andre Santos Friday at Bellator 146. Neer last fought (professionally) in October 2014, when he lost a unanimous decision to another UFC veteran, Paul Bradley.
