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ARCHIVED STORY SUMMER 2013
Former heavyweight champion Porter
to fight on Bellator card.
Parker Porter works the bag at Underdog BJJ in Hartford.
By Brian Woodman Jr.
Former Reality Fighting Heavyweight champion Parker Porter, who trains at Underdog BJJ in Hartford, is scheduled as of this writing to fight heavyweight Rhode Island native Josh Diekman (12-5) on the preliminary card for Bellator 98 on Sept. 7 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville.
Southington native Porter, who resides in Middletown, has a 5-3 record. His previous opponents include UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga and UFC Light Heavyweight belt holder Jon Jones, and although both were losses, he expresses pride in having fought them.
Porter lost his belt to Gonzaga on October 8, 2011 at Mohegan after a third round submission by arm bar. During a previous discussion with this writer, he recalled happily the mutual respect demonstrated between them and how Gonzaga, who is a decorated international Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion, visited him in his dressing room and complimented him afterward on his techniques.
Jones knocked out Porter in the first round of a bout for World Championship Fighting on June 20, 2008.
“He's a very talented young man and I'm sure he'll be at the top of his weight class for a long time,” said Porter. He added he was unsure of whether he would continue to work with Marlborough-based Reality Fighting, where he fought in three bouts and won two.
“My original Bellator debut was scheduled for early 2012 but due to some bad luck the fight was cancelled,” said Porter, who was scheduled to fight previous opponent Randy Smith at Bellator 63 (Porter defeated him at a Combat Zone event four years earlier). “It really depends on how things go on Sept. 7.”
Porter, who holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, has trained in Boxing, Wrestling and Muay Thai. He has also trained at Underdog in Jeet Kune Do, a philosophy of fighting developed by late martial arts icon Bruce Lee that favors an integrative approach to developing fighting techniques.
“I’m always striving to improve in all aspects of my game,” said Porter. “Particular areas of focus are always re-evaluated on a fight-to-fight basis and depend largely on my next opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Our blog will feature more details on the event this week.
