William Spud - A Career Highlight

Fighter profile of William Spud by

In just a few days, the world will have the chance to witness the dangerous William Spud defend his Gamma lightweight title once again. The 32-10 mixed martial artist did not start his career off with being one of the greatest fighters of his generation, in fact it has been a spectacular ride cementing his legacy as one of the best Lightweights to ever do it. In this preview we will be taking a look at his career highlighting some of his memorable fights, some of his highs and some of his lows. We will even offer a short glimpse into his upcoming fight on the 24th. 

Thirty Five year old William Spud is a native of Sydney Australia. The aggressive Australian started out under a manager by the name of Klatz Matz. Upon agreeing a deal with Matz, Spud took on a QFC fight against another man making his professional debut. Spud was relatively new to the entirety of MMA and so aggression surpassed technique. Spud found himself losing a unanimous decision to a fighter that would go on and become a horrible kickboxer. 

Shortly after that loss, his manager shared with him some necessary improvements to make. They spent two months training diligently on Spuds agility and technique. When August rolled around, Spud had signed on with Island FC and accepted his first fight on the sixteenth of August. That fight proved to be one of the fastest fights of the season with Spud knocking out his opponent in just twenty two seconds. The fans went berserk wondering who this new sensation was and would he be able to do it again. 

The lights of the Island grew bright for William Spud as fight fans tuned in to see if the lightweight with the Mike Tyson power could come through for them again, and sure enough he did. William Spud would go on an eight fight win streak knocking out each of his opponents in thunderous fashion. Eventually, the Island began to shift to a close. As it did, the now champion of the lightweight division entered into this tournament where up until the third round stamped out his name as one of the fan favorites. He took on his next opponent in Baby, a fighter who was seven years his elder and held a load more fights under his belt. Baby outstruck Spud for the entire fight, winning a majority of the fight. The moment that had everyone on their feet was in the last ten seconds when Spud landed a hellacious blow rocking Baby and landing another that sent him crumbling to the mat. He considered rushing in and the referee considered stopping the fight but neither happened and the round came to a close ending the bout with Baby declaring the victor despite him not really sure where he was at. Maxxy Baby would go on to become the tournament winner for the Island. 

Spud would have a rocky experience for his next few fights after leaving the island. He would go on to win two of his next three bouts. His Manager Klatz decided it would be best for the two of them to part ways. Sure enough, Spud became one of the hottest prospects in the game and Grumpy Ol Bastard went in to capitalize on the free agent. Without any sort of hesitancy Spud signed a deal that would last a while and see Spud reach some great heights in his division. 

In their first fight together William Spud was pitted against the Gamma Contenders champion. In the second round, Spud had suffered a hellacious knockout loss that fans of the Island prodigy wondered would he ever be the same fighter that he was in his early career. He immediately focused on quite a bit of his defense and began to train with some higher level sparring partners. Within a few weeks we witnessed Spud make a return that sent shockwaves down the spine of Gamma Contender fans. Spud would go on to win five fights in a row and four of those in devastating knockout fashion. The Australian terror was alive again. Grumpy Old Bastard and the Gamma leader that is Corleone decided to give the prodigy a real shot against some talent in Gamma. In his first bout, he took on a fighter slightly older than himself in Pascal Henry. The fight went the distance and thanks to some of Pascal's recent performances, there was enough footage for Spud to figure out how to get the win. 

Shortly after he scored his two victories in Gamma he was presented with a championship fight against the then champion Farboleous “The Deck-Wrecka” Ricardo who at one time was considered the 6 best mma fighter in the world. Ricardos name was synonymous with Gamma. This guy held the belt off and on so frequently and obliterated numerous opponents. By the time he accepted the bout with Spud he had already 16 title fights and submitted 6 of those number one contenders or champions. Ricardo was not just another fight for Spud, he was the real deal. Spud was anxious going into that fight, his hands were visibly shaking. Were the nerves getting the best of him or was it the name of Ricardo? The fight proved to be as drastic an event as any for Spud. He was beaten all around the ring, losing every inch of that fight up until the third round where he was forced to submit via Triangle. Another title opportunity slipped away from him. 

The broken hearted fighter vowed that should he get another shot he would win that belt. Fight fans believed it to be too much. And after knocking out his next opponent, he put himself up as a potential for Ricardo once again. Ricardos opponent bailed out of the fight and Spud stepped up to the plate. Ricardo had thrown over a dozen submissions but just could not pull them off and Spud landed shot after shot capitalizing on his second title shot opportunity. The ring announcer screamed “and new!” and the fans went wild! William Spud became Gammas Champion for the first time in his career defeating Ricardo in a controversial split decision. 

Spud and Bastard would have a bumpy relationship following his title victory. He would go on to win some then lose one for a while. The frustration proved to be too much for both and they agreed to part ways after losing his Gamma title again. He once more became one of the hottest prospects on the market and managers lined up to bring him in. Spud decided that his bet bet for his future would be to go with a manager that was bringing down the house with his other fighters and signed with Alex Manitaakos.

Unlike other managers, once Alex signed William there was something visibly positive about the relationship. Infact, two months after putting pen to paper, William took on his first bout with Alex as his manager and knocked out his opponent. It was the first manager he had where they scored a win right off the bat. His next match up he evened the score with his newfound rival in Ricardo and beat him soundly scoring a unanimous decision. 

Under the Tutelage of Maniatakos, Spud has climbed to the pinnacle of this sport especially in his own weight class. He now holds the Gamma Lightweight title and is recognized by many as one of the most dangerous lightweight strikers in the Gamma roster. Spud takes on his next opponent in just a few days as he looks to defend his Gamma title by out scoring and potentially knocking out the talented Dougal McCraken (21-12). 

We want to give Alex Maniatakos and William Spud a very special thank you from Hitters in Las Vegas. Spud spent a couple training sessions helping out some of the newer guys in the gym and was honestly so great. We hope you put on a spectacle and bring that belt back to Las Vegas once you finish! You can catch Spud compete on July 24th live in London as the headliner for a spectacular card. 

Article views: 26
» Donate to this author