Although Bellator 129 may be lacking in star power, it does have its share of veterans. And Josh Neer is the chief veteran among them.
The Iowa native is set to take on Paul Bradley in the night’s main event. Taking his first professional bout in 2003 at just 20 years old, Neer tends to be grouped in with some of the early MMA pioneers, namely those also based out of Iowa.
“After I fought Spencer Fisher, Jens Pulver came in the locker room and told me come down to Miletich. All those guys helped me: Spencer, Pat Miletich, Tim Sylvia, but especially Jens Pulver.”
Neer went on to spend a number of years training at Miletich Fighting Systems and has nothing but respect those he worked during his time there. “Jens and Pat are just good people. Most people who are nice to you always have a motive behind it but Jens and Pat are just genuinely good people.”
Eventually, as one would expect from someone who has been around the game for so long, Neer moved on and has bounced around a little bit. Most recently, he has spent some time training with the Diaz brothers.
“People don’t understand how technically good Nate and Nick Diaz are. They just think they’re tough and they’re just street-fighters. They’re really technical and no one appreciates that. I learned a lot training with them. Both Nick and Nate are really good coaches and anyone who’s trained with them will say the same thing.”
Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. The problem is that, at 31, Neer isn’t exactly old. Perhaps he is just old in MMA years. He is likely to agree.
He admits, “I definitely identify more with the old-generation of fighters than the new.”
So at this stage in the game, why continue to do it?
“I’m fighting for a lot of reasons… To me, I’m just a competitor. I always want to fight and I always want to fight whoever the best guy is.”
As for Paul Bradley, whom Neer admits he admires, he is just another opponent. “My mentality is that I want to go in there and fight the top guys and to try to finish them, and that goes for whoever is standing in front of me.”
With Friday night’s fight pushing him over the half-century mark, the goal remains the same for “The Dentist.”
“I do it to make money obviously, but everyone who takes training seriously wants to win a world title. So that’s a big motivating factor for me. I think Bellator fans will enjoy my fighting style. I’ll fight to the very end.”