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Jeff Joslins possible return!!!

517 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Fedor>all 
#1 · (Edited)
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/453927

It was just about two years ago the Hamilton mixed martial artist Jeff Joslin finally reached the pinnacle of his profession by making it into the octagon at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His live televised fight won him thousands of fans and he appeared ready to join the ranks of the world's elite welterweights.

Then he disappeared. Just vanished from the scene. Fell so far off the radar the UFC even scrubbed his name off its website. There have been rumours and suggestions about what happened, but Joslin's kept the truth close to the vest until now.

So what happened to him?

Training for a fight with Chris Lytle 1 1/2 years ago, he took a couple mild shots to the head.

Later that same day, he bumped his head on the mat. It was a rather innocuous smack and certainly nothing memorable. Not when your job regularly involves stitches, the occasional mashed nose or two and an obliterated tooth here and there.

Yet, the next day, he was having trouble focusing. He hadn't been drinking, yet he felt hung over. A "painless migraine" is how he describes it.

As days passed, it got no better. Finally, doctors checked him out, diagnosed a concussion and told him to wait it out. He figured it'd be a few weeks at worst.

"It took a year," he says. "It wasn't fun."

Nor was it helpful to his career. First, he had to pull out of the fight with Lytle. Then he had to watch the UFC land in Montreal for the biggest MMA event in history. Had he been healthy, there's no doubt he would've been on the card. He wasn't.

But every day was the same. No nausea or pain, just fogginess. Any time he raised his heart rate, he felt the symptoms kick in. Which meant training was out of the question. Not that he didn't try, but each time was a disaster.

With plenty of time on his hands and no other outlet, he turned his attention to an idea he's had for a while, an online training and teaching program for martial arts students. Hundreds of videos -- featuring him demonstrating the points he's teaching -- walk through the nuances of the game for folks of all ability levels. They'll soon be online for those who want to learn how to fight.

"This is to teach them from scratch," he says. "How I would teach them if they came into the gym."

But actually fighting is what he still wants to do. All the teaching in the world can't replace the rush of facing an opponent and going at it. So, just recently, when he started to notice he was feeling better, he began giving it a try again. And, to his immense relief, things seem to be normal.

So the guy who went stir crazy not being able to train for a year has started making up for lost time. With one eye on making sure the lousy feelings don't return and the other on a comeback fight, he's going full out these days.

"When you feel great, you really appreciate it after a year of feeling like crap," he says.

He'd love to have another fight in the UFC, but that's up in the air. After sticking with him for months, the organization finally voided the last two fights of his three-fight contract, a move to which he didn't object. In fact, he argues they were exceedingly patient with him.

Besides, he figures one good showing to prove he's truly back and they'll give him another look.

But even he realizes some things may have to change.

At 33, he doesn't have many more years to waste on the sidelines waiting for lingering injuries to heal. If he's going to make his mark on the big stage, he's going to have to do it soon.

Maybe a bit differently, though.

"I might have to adapt my style," he says, breaking into a chuckle. "I might have to start choking people out instead of punching them out."
thought it was a pretty interest read, id love to see him back in the ufc
 
#2 ·
ya man this guy is over looked. Hes loss in the ufc was to kos but not many can stop kos taked downs and he did just about everything he could. His strikeing is crisp and his bjj is good and hes tough so he could do well..maybe at LW though
 
#3 ·
I trained BJJ with one of Joslin's best students, it was an amazing experienced that I learned a tonne from. Jeff is a fantastic teacher and an overlooked welterweight. I'd love to see Jeff fight Chris Wilson, they're very similar fighters.
 
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