![]() He was humble and more than willing to hear anybody out, be they fighters, fans, or-worse-members of the MMA media. Josh bro smart player professional#The fact that Josh, a professional fighter with an impressive UFC win under his belt, deigned to talk shop with two online MMA geeks was proof of his character. That he didn’t immediately drop out of that video call says a lot. I don’t know, internet bragging rights? And Josh did his best to ease the tension with a few winning smiles and lighthearted remarks. He was so obviously uncomfortable, but we were clueless at the time, too determined to win the silly squabble for. I remember it fondly both because we all laughed about it afterward, but also because Josh, who had gladly participated in the argument when it first began, quickly tried to back out and calm things down. I inadvertently hit Dallas with a subtle “do you even trane, bro?” and he hit me back with a well-deserved accusation of meat-headedness. What followed was an utterly pointless argument between Dallas and myself. I was a little starstruck I went overboard. How should takedowns be scored? I remember Dallas saying that takedowns don’t really do damage, and I disagreed. Discussion of the pivotal fifth round quickly turned into an argument. We-Josh, Dallas Winston, and I-were reviewing the first meeting between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler and trying to re-score the bout on a second viewing. One of my fondest memories of Josh comes from the first time I ever met him. It didn’t work out, but that’s fighting, and Josh was a fighter. Josh never backed down from a challenge, and no amount of smart gameplanning could convince him, in the moment, that he couldn’t drag this big barbarian to the ground. It was a frustrating loss for him, but I think there’s something admirable in the way he fought. Sure enough, he shot for that damn takedown 15 seconds into the fight. I remember, the night before his last fight, he told me to yell at him if he shot for one takedown against Tim Boetsch. He was more than open to advice from someone whose only real qualification was a lot of time spent watching fights. He was a smart guy, but he tempered that intelligence with open-mindedness. I scouted his last three opponents for him, and had a few long talks on the phone about strategy and preparation. I’d barely scratched the surface of that relationship, and I can’t help but regret it entirely now.Ĭonnor Ruebusch: Though Josh and I didn’t communicate frequently, I felt like we were friends. ![]() Here was someone who not only had a great deal of knowledge and experience to give, but was there to listen and take in whatever you had in return. But since our last conversation I’d begun to realize what a mistake that was. I only got a few chances to work with Josh over his time here. Considering his struggles, his inner demons, that was an unbelievable gift. ![]() He gave his personal life to people who would never know him personally. He was a remarkably introspective writer, opening doors to his life and to his mind for others to look through. It’s something that bled through into his written work as well. He was someone who made it a priority to be there for others. Talking with him, it was clear that being someone that people could turn to, that people could rely on meant a lot to him. To give them the kind of platform he missed working through the regional Florida MMA scene in the mid-2000s. He wanted to give fighters a place to improve and challenge themselves, to work transition from an amateur career to being a professional. Josh was dedicated to the sport of MMA, to growing it, to improving it. It was clear that Josh had plans for the future. ![]() We talked about how losing had set him back, and about his plans for the future. ![]() What it was like not just to fight, but to run your own show. We talked about how things were going right now. I wanted to talk about Combat Nights, which of course meant we spent a lot of time talking about him. Not much more than a month before he passed away. He sat down with me in early August, not much more than a month before word broke that he’d been found in a coma. But, I remember the last time I got to talk with him, face to face - or as near as you can get with an entire country between you. It was probably on one of his infrequent guest spots for our UFC breakdown shows, not the kind of thing that stands out especially in my memory. Zane Simon: I don’t remember the first time I got to talk with Josh. ![]()
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