Fighting hard to redeem himself

Fighting hard to redeem himself

SINGAPORE - American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Will Chope is a man fighting the ghosts of his past.

Two months ago, in a shock move that sent ripples through the MMA world, he was dropped from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after it was revealed that he was charged for assaulting his ex-wife five years ago.

Since his expulsion from the world's biggest MMA promotion, the 23-year-old has moved to Asia in a bid to revive his career.

However, he recalled yesterday: "I was like a black sheep and that was the worst feeling. You work so hard to get to the UFC and (then it was) all taken away so fast."

Chope was serving in the United States Army when he was charged in 2009, and was sentenced to a five-year term in a military prison. He was also discharged from service.

After he was dropped in March - on the morning of what was to be his second UFC fight - ex-wife Ashley Woods, 24, came out in support of him and they jointly released a video statement which claimed that a lot of the charges against the fighter were exaggerated.

Today, both Chope and Woods are in different relationships but remain good friends. They also took their five-year-old daughter to Disneyland, after Chope's dismissal.

Said Chope, who has a 19-6 professional record: "The reaction that everybody had was as though it had just happened, and not five years ago. Not that it's not bad, it was bad but it was nowhere near as bad as people made it seem to be. I just have to live with it, and hopefully find some understanding people."

Though he has fallen from the pinnacle of MMA, Chope has not turned his back on the sport which he grew up watching on VHS tapes back in Concord, California.

After he was released from military jail, he found it difficult to get a job in the US and considered moving to join the French Foreign Legion.

But a day before his flight, he decided to head for Thailand instead, where he picked up Muay Thai. Thus his journey towards becoming a professional fighter began.

At 1.94m, the 66kg fighter uses his height and reach to great advantage in the cage, especially if he is able to get his opponents into a Muay Thai clinch where his knees can do heavy damage.

He is set to meet South Korean Kibum Moon in Taipei under Taiwan-based Pacific Rim Organised (PRO) Fighting on May 25, before coming to Singapore to battle in Rebel FC on Aug 1, in a highly-anticipated eight-man event.

Said Rebel FC chief executive Justin Leong, on Chope: "He served his time, seems to have repented, and his wife doesn't hold a grudge against him. "Everyone makes mistakes and we should be a compassionate society."

This article was published on May 6 in The Straits Times.

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