Ultimate Fighter alum Chuck O’Neil became the CES MMA welterweight champion back in October as he submitted Ricardo Funch with an armbar and he will now defend the title at the end of the month against Renzo Gracie product Emmanuel Walo at CES MMA 27.
O’Neil (14-6) has won three in a row and five of his last six fights. All of those fights have come in CES MMA and three of the wins have come by stoppage.
Most people remember O’Neil for his days on the UFC reality show and he walked away from that experience with a takeaway, he was not coachable at that time.
“After being on The Ultimate Fighter and all of that experience, I was not very coachable before then,” O’Neil said on The MMA Report Live. “With my head coach Nate Ryan, things have changed up a lot since then. I have developed into being a better fighter to the point that I am able to watch myself on The Ultimate Fighter back in those days and disgusted by myself. Definitely a completely different fighter now.”
When someone says there were not coachable, you have to wonder why that was the case. O’Neil explained why he felt he was not coachable at that time in his career.
“I do not know,” he said. “I was just stubborn punk I guess. I just went out and said ‘oh this is my gameplan, I am just going to punch him in the face.’ The game is different now. I came to the realization of that. I guess maturity has helped a lot too.”
O’Neil went on to state that it was over time that he began to realize that he had to change things up. One of the events that led to his change was talking to Chris Cope following their fight at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.
“I think it was over time and after The Ultimate Fighter Finale fight I had with Chris Cope, he basically had me scouted. A lot of the times when I wanted to throw a power shot, there was a big tell of me throwing big left hook into a right hand. He said that he broke me down on film and that was something I had never done. So I was basically, ‘wow this game has changed, it’s evolving, and I either need to go with it or get out.’ I decided to go with it and evolve into a better fighter.”
On January 30th in Rhode Island, he will defend the title against Walo (7-1-1) and will be looking for his fourth win in a row. Walo is unbeaten since his professional debut and is coming off a disqualification win at World Series of Fighting 13. O’Neil broke down the game of his opponent and will be ready for anything Walo bring to the cage at the end of the month.
“Emmanuel is a very explosive an athlete fighter,” O’Neil said. “He is definitely going to try to come out and be exciting in the fight. I am definitely going to be ready for all facets of his game that he is going to try to bring into the cage. I like those kind of fights. I do not people that try to come out point fight. I like when they come out and try to put me away because it makes it exciting for me, them, and the fans. I just feel that I am going to have an answer for everything that he does. He is going to throw some big shots. Go for takedowns. Pin me up against the cage but I have seen it all. I have had bigger, stronger training partners, more technical training partners so I will be ready for every facet of his game.”
A win over Walo would be a huge step for O’Neil as it could lead to a bigger opportunity in the sport. O’Neil has made to the UFC in 2011 and he only had one official fight with the promotion. Just like nearly every fighter will say, O’Neil would like to get back to the UFC before his career is over.
“I think you ask any MMA fighter, there ultimate goal is obviously to get back to the UFC and I do not care how many people are trying to sue them right now,” he said. “Saying they are not getting paid enough. Ultimately, you ask any MMA fighter and that is going to be their goal is to either get to the UFC or get back to the UFC. Anybody that knows MMA, they are like ‘you are a UFC fighter.’ That is basically what they attribute to being a MMA fighter is a UFC fighter. That is ultimately my goal but I just want to perform on the highest level possible against some of the best fighters possible because there is going to be one day when this career is done and I want to look back and think I fought the best possible guys at all times.”