With 44 professional fights to his credit, 30-year-old Yves Edwards is well known to most mixed martial arts fans. The Bahamas-born Texan has been ranked among the world’s top lightweights since the turn of the century.
Edwards’ impressive record (31-12-1) has suffered a few blemishes of late, however, with a disappointing TKO loss (doctor stoppage) to Joe Stevenson in July 2006, followed by a defeat to Mike Brown, who won a unanimous decision in Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg.
Looking to get back to his winning ways, Edwards takes on Florida’s Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (10-2) on an all new episode of Bodog Fight: New Jersey this Tuesday, August 28 at 11 p.m. / 10 p.m. Central on ION television and in Canada on The Fight Network.
“I don’t have any specific strategy for Jorge,” confesses Edwards. “My game plan is just to try and punch him in the face, and not let him punch me.”
Does this simple but effective style have a name?
“I call it Thug-Jitsu,” he replies. “That’s what I teach at my Revolution Dojo in Houston.”
Officially, Thug-Jitsu – which Edwards dubs the “modern art of the beatdown” – is derived from a melting pot of boxing, Thai kickboxing, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. ThugJitsu.com proclaims that none of these arts is enough to be successful alone, yet a solid combination of two, three or more ensures that a fighter is prepared to face any kind of opponent.Yves EdwardsYves Edwards
“You have these guys who do Jiu-Jitsu and they want to wear these shirts about how they can kick anybody’s ass – but they can’t kick anybody’s ass, really,” Edwards explains. “We don’t train for Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, we train for fights, so my students get punched in the face.”
By feeding them a steady diet of physical blows, Edwards believes he is preparing them for the real thing.
“That’s what Thug-Jitsu is all about.”
Being prepared to fight is only half the battle, though. To have success in the ring you’ve got to have determination – the will to win. For Edwards, that motivation lays close to home.
“I always fight my hardest to win because I want my kids (son and daughter) to be proud of me,” he says. “My son is three years old and he knows that his dad fights, but I’m not sure he understands the game. One day soon though he’s going to see my fights on DVD or whatever, and I have to make sure he’s proud of my performance. I have to make sure that he knows his dad gave it everything he got, whether he won or lost. That’s what I do when I fight.”
In addition to the highly anticipated match-up between Edwards and Masvidal, viewers will also see Iraqi war combat vet Nick Agallar (17-5) of Wisconsin take on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist James “Binky” Jones (4-3) of Maryland.
Can’t catch the action on ION (or The Fight Network in Canada)? All episodes of the Bodog Fight series are available worldwide through streaming video at BodogFight.com, with behind-the-scenes exclusives, fighter bios and additional footage only available online.
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