Heavyweight Fighter Josh Copeland Doesn’t Just Possess One of the Best Nicknames in the Sport… He Also Has a Devastating Right Hand… As Alex Nicholson Found Out…
Nothing in combat sports is more exciting than a clash between two heavyweights. It’s the single division in boxing and MMA where fighters definitely have the ability to end their clash with a single blow. Look away at your own peril, because it could be over before you know.
Heavyweight MMA is traditionally less impressive than its boxing counterpart. Fighters tend to gas out after the first or second round, while the conditioning of many heavyweights – even in the UFC – often leaves something to be desired.
PFL fighter Josh Copeland gave us a brutal finish last weekend. The regional scene produces some incredible moments that go overlooked (especially when you have the drama of UFC 229 going at the same time). Watch the footage below and enjoy ‘Cuddly Bear’ smashing out poor Alex Nicholson.
ONE PUNCH! The slipper still fits for the No. 8 seed @joshcuddlybear. Next stop: the PFL Heavyweight Championship on New Year’s Eve. #PFLPlayoffs #PFL8 pic.twitter.com/fGsnV3izC8
— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) October 6, 2018
Heavy Hands
Josh Copeland is a former two-fight UFC veteran. While he lost his two fights in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, he’s patched up his career since he joined the PFL. Sometimes you have to go back to go forwards. Even though you might have the ability, a combination of bad luck and a lack of experience can cause your career to falter.
Now he’s extended his winning streak to four fights. In the footage above you can see he absolutely smashed Alex Nicholson at PFL 8 in New Orleans. It’s a devastating one-punch obliteration and you just have to love the way he knows and walks away Mark Hunt style.
Entertaining
A move to Bellator or even back to the UFC might not be far away for ‘Cuddly Bear’ who possesses both an amazing nickname and ludicrous power. He smashes Nicholson, and it’s a case of ‘Sit down boy.’
There’s also no doubt that ‘Cuddly Bear’ has a great personality. The UFC could do with that. He calls himself ‘Cuddly Bear’ for crying out loud. Also, he looks like insanely like John C. Reilly. We’d take him over Marcin Tybura any day – no offense to the Polish fighter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xER6HiPTg0A
Raw Power
As we saw at UFC 229 last weekend, raw power in the heavyweight division is sometimes all you need. We saw Derrick Lewis smash out highly-touted Russian fighter Alexander Volkov with a devastating right hand, followed up with some brutal ground and pound.
‘Drago’ dominated what was pretty much a boring fight, where he was able to use his reach and length to pick Lewis off, as ‘The Black Beast’ gassed out. His gameplan went against him though, because he got complacent and was caught by Lewis with literally 11 seconds left on the clock in the final round.
Now Lewis will attempt to save the absolute mess that is UFC 230. He’s set to challenge heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in a clash which already has DC as a massive favorite. Can Lewis produce Michael Bisping levels of surprise and become the new champion? With that power, anything is possible.
