I’m so happy to announce the opening of my new MPR Athlete Training Center in Bucks County PA. We are 4,000sq ft with an indoor sprint track, MMA mats, cardio & weight training equipment and much more. Come out and train with us! Private training, martial arts, group training and an awesome kids program all under one roof and the NEW MPR Athlete Training Facility!
I’m stepping back in the cage Oct 8th to face another very tough opponent at the Mohegan Sun Casino in CT. Please contact me for tickets and sponsorship opportunities. Also looking forward to the opening our new MPR Performance Training Center very soon along with the launch of our new MPR Clothing Line. Stay tuned and thank you for the support!
Fighter Erik Purcell defeats Aaron Skates at the 3:22 mark.
By Adrian Fedkiw
Local MMA fighter and Neshaminy graduate Erik Purcell took on Aaron Skates at Reality Fighting’s Battle at the Beach in Wildwood, N.J. this past Friday.
Coming into the fight, Purcell was not only on a strict training regimen, he became a vegetarian to increase his endurance. The bout was scheduled for three five-minute rounds.
“For the last seven months, I haven’t eaten any meat. That helped me keep my weight down. Normally, I have to lose around 30 pounds to fight, this time I only had to lose 10 or 12. It definitely helps out with your cardio and strength; it makes a big difference. Plus with Coach Altaf, we were on a strict training regimen. I was 100-percent confident that I could five or six rounds. I felt great. I felt strong,” Purcell said.
Standing a 6-feet-6-inches Skates had a six-inch height advantage over Purcel, who spoke about his strategy going into the fight.
“I respected his length. He was so tall that I knew it was in my best interest to get him on his back. Usually my game plan is wrestling to some ground and pound and Jiu-Jitsu anyways,” Purcell said.
Skates used his length in the early going by landing some stiff kicks. Purcell said he knew that patience would be key.
“I knew he was an experienced striker, so in that case you can’t rush things too much. I know he was looking to throw a knee or uppercut, so you have no choice to be patient. If you get locked up against the wall, he’s going to be in a dominant position in terms of throwing knees, anything in close range like that. I had to be really careful that I didn’t eat one of those knees,” Purcell said. “I noticed he was backing straight up after most of his kicks, so I realized that I had to eat one or two of them and then just shoot a straight in shot.”
Purcell waited for the right opportunity. Like a shark, he pounced and took Skates down to the mat.
“Once I got him down, I was able to sink in a good mount. We had a good scramble, I ended up in a dominant position. Then, with the head and arm triangle, I had it in really deep. I was confident it was going to be over,” Purcell said.
At the three-minute-22-second mark of the first round, Skates tapped and Purcell’s hand was raised in victory.
All of the hard work and dedication paid off.
“I want to give thanks to my phenomenal team. Coach Al — he’s just done wonders with me. Pedro Rivera, my standup coach and my Jiu-jitsu coaches as well. They’ve spent a lot of time with me suring up my technique in my ground game — Coach Tony Rivera and Professor Brian McPherson, my wrestling coach Chuckie Connor — they’ve made all the differences in the world,” Purcell said.
Make sure to check out Purcell’s personal website at erikpurcell.com. Follow him on Twitter @Erikpurcell.
Thank you to all of my friends, family, fans, coaches and sponsors. Being a professional fighter is a demanding sport, but fight night all of the hard work spent training can finally be rewarded. Knowing I have the support and love from so many people makes this grueling journey worth every punch, every scrape and every bruise. Came out with a win last night against a very good opponent. Time to get ready for the next one. See you there!
Special thanks to JBM Jiu Jitsu Academy, Professor Tony Rivera, Coach Altaf, Chuckie Connor, RABJJ, Pedro Rivera and to the rest of my training partners and family.
Nearly five years ago, Erik Purcell had an important decision to make.
By Adrian Fedkiw
Nearly five years ago, Erik Purcell had an important decision to make. He wanted full custody of his daughter, but needed to find a way to make things work financially.
“Me being a think outside-the-box kind of guy, I realized I couldn’t have a normal job and get full custody of her,” Purcell said. “I knew I could fight, so I decided I would become a cage fighter just sitting in the kitchen of my house. I never planned on making MMA a career. It was always just fun, and then it reached a point where I had to go for full custody of my daughter.”
The 1995 Neshaminy graduate wrestled for the varsity team.
After high school, to go along with his wrestling background, he experimented with Russian Sambo and Jiujitsu.
His first MMA fight came against Joe Silva.
“He came out and he was a monster. He looked like someone off of Muscle Fitness, just huge and scary looking. I came and just dominated him,” Purcell said. “So since then, everybody was like, you got me, you can do this.”
Not only did Purcell see a career inside the cage, he found a career outside of it as well.
He has a MMA training series with NBC sports, and has opened a business revolved around personal training called EP Fit.
“I did a couple things with versus initially, where they followed me around leading up to a fight. All of that went pretty well. Then, they asked me to put together a training series for the website because versus was ready to start carrying UFC,” Purcell said.
“I choreographed a sequence of training moves that weren’t just here’s how you do a Jiujitsu move or here’s how you throw a cross. It was a combination of everything. It was a pretty big hit, so we shot some more,” Purcell added.
Purcell talked about his new series.
“We’re highlighting UFC fighters now, so we’re doing some of the moves that made them as popular and as devastating as they are. We’re getting ready to do a shoot for that coming up,” he said.
Purcell has started training for a fight coming up in Wildwood come August 5. His opponent has yet to be announced.
“I train with the best guys in the world,” he said. “I’m over at Ricardo Almedai’s gym, world renowned Jiujitsu specialists. We have the UFC Champions Frankie Edgar over there, they’re all just World Champions. And everyone meets there from around the world and trains. We spar Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. It’s pretty amazing when you’re sitting around the room and you’re familiar with who you’re sparring with.”
“It’s just been a weird sequence of events, my pro-career so far. I just want to wipe the slate clean and beat people up, have some fun”
Make sure to check out Purcell’s personal website at erikpurcell.com. Follow him on Twitter @Erikpurcell.
So we have some great news to announce as we are now officially part of the NBC Sports family. Being part of such a great network is truly an honor and I look forward to continuing the cutting edge mma training we offered on our previous videos. I’m currently choreographing a new sequence of techniques to rival our past videos. Stay tuned and follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated. Thank you all for the support!
I’m offering a special training discount to all Law Enforcement, Active Military and Fire Fighters. MMA Training is extremely beneficial for the men and women that protect us. Hour and half hour sessions are available. Now is the time to get in the ring with me for one on one training. Email me for details.
Check out my first installment of our latest videos on Versus.com called UFC Signature Moves. On this Series we highlight and detail with unbelievable camera angles and special effects the moves that made your favorite UFC fighters so devastating. Hope you like them!
Check out my video for Versus.com and vote today for America’s Top MMA Gym. You could win a Hayabusa top mma prize pack valued at nearly $500 and don’t forget to check out my new UFC Signature moves training series on Versus.com.
I wanted to show everyone this video of one of my unbelievable clients Liz. She’s motivated, determined and you have to see her great work in the ring. She’s only been with me a short time and has already made such progress. Get in the ring with me and I guarantee the same results for you such as weight loss, improved cardio, flexibility and a new found love of hitting mitts! Contact me today and change your life!
