Fighting has flowed through Chase Gormley’s bloodline for generations. Even before he was born, he was destined to meet others in combat in the ring. Son and younger brother of professional boxers, the unbeaten heavyweight (6-0-0) was an NAIA All-America wrestler at Lindenwood University. Now he brings the whole mixed-martial-arts package to his August 1st fight against former IFL® heavyweight titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (30-6-0) for Affliction M-1 Global’s star-studded “Trilogy” Pay-Per-View show at Honda Center in Anaheim.
Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy,” featuring Fedor vs. Barnett in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Donald J Trump. Russian combat fighting legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (30-1-0) defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett (24-5-0), in a potential Fight of the Year match-up as the main event.
The 6-3, 270-pound Gormley trains with MMA stars Antonio “Minotauro” Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva at Black House Gym and is a paid sparring partner for heavyweight boxers, including Chris Arreola and Lance Whitaker. “My father, Dan, briefly boxed professionally but my brother, Josh (heavyweight with a 19-4 record with 18 knockouts), who fought as Josh Dempsey, was rated No. 4 in the WBO (World Boxing Organization) in 1998. I plan to go pro, too. I had to fight and started when I was four. Pepe (Correira), who coached on The Contender (season 4, television reality show) is my boxing trainer.”
Rothwell, who will fight Gormley on the HDNet version of the show, has 24 more wins than Chase has pro fights. “Big” Ben, a protégé of Pat Miletich, has won 14 of his last 15 fights, including notable victims such as Ricco Rodriguez and Pat Nelson, and the veteran has been up against other notable competitors, such as Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Mike Whitehead.
Gormley doesn’t view his bout with Rothwell as a breakthrough fight for him, nor does he feel that his opponent has a clear experience advantage over him. “Rothwell’s no big deal,” Chase explains. “There’s no added pressure on me. This is a fight I should easily win, if I go in with the right mindset. His kicks are real dangerous. He’s aggressive and has a lot of heart. But, if I stay calm and use my footwork properly, it won’t be too tough of a fight for me. I try not to think about it (fighting on HDNet). It’s good for my career and I thank Affliction for this honor. I just have to focus on the task at hand and win. Fighting on a big show like this won’t matter if I don’t win. Winning is all that matters and afterwards, I’ll look back at it differently, I’m sure. Rothwell has had a lot of fights against good fighters, but I started competing when I was four, and I don’t think he did until he was 17. I’m not worried about that (experience factor) at all. This is what I was bred and born to do.”
On the PPV card supporting the Emelianenko-Barnett bout in a highly competitive and potentially entertaining co-main event, Armenian kick-boxing specialist Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi (25-2-1) fights for the first time in the Unites States, taking on former Strikeforce® light heavyweight challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral (32-8-0).
Dutch knockout artist Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (36-13-1) plans to parlay his recent devastating triumph against 3-time UFC® heavyweight title challenger Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo into a standout performance versus yet another former UFC® heavyweight title challenger, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (27-10-0).
Brazilian bomber Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8-0), former UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion, unloads on spirited Sengoku middleweight title-holder Jorge Santiago (21-7-0) in another PPV match.
In addition to the Rothwell-Gormley fight, the undercard on HDNet features ex-IFL® Welterweight Champion Jay “The Thoroughbred” Hieron (17-4-0) against former Cage Rage belt-holder, British brawler Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2); exciting lightweight prospects Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (12-1-0) and Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (12-2-0) go to war; featherweight L.C. Davis (13-2-0) faces Javier “Showtime” Vazquez (13-2-0), former KOTC and Gladiator Challenge champion; ex-IFL® lightweight challenger Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3-0) meets Mark “The Machine” Hominick (16-8-0). Two off-television matches are also on tap between heavyweights Jessie Gibbs (7-2-0) and Rob Broughton (10-4-1), as well as Brazilian light heavyweight Lucio Linhares (12-4-0) and Michael Zayats (8-3-0).
