Matured Glover Ready to Lay Down Law in MFC
Chris Nelson Jan 17, 2011
Tyrone Glover (right) | Scott Bowler/Sherdog.com
One fight removed from a five-year hiatus, unbeaten lightweight Tyrone Glover took a major step forward with his MMA career: in December, he inked a four-fight deal with Canada’s most high-profile MMA promotion, Maximum Fighting Championship.
Glover faces a significant challenge in his debut for the organization, as he will square off against once-beaten prospect and fellow promotional newcomer Robert Washington at MFC 28 “Supremacy,” set to take place Feb. 25 at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Now a practicing attorney, Glover told Sherdog.com that the stability which the larger stage of the MFC offers simply made more sense than attempting to build his resume on the local Colorado circuit.
“I feel like I’m in kind of a unique situation, in that I need a
little more predictability with my MMA career. I’m always ready to
fight, but if I’m in the middle of a big deal or a big case, I
can’t just drop off to go take a fight on two, three weeks’
notice,” said Glover. “I needed to know that I could take a fight
and I’d have an opponent, and it would be scheduled and I could do
it with enough frequency to stay sharp and stay motivated to
continue to advance my career.”
Glover describes his day job as a mix of “business and corporate law with a very dynamic regulatory overlay.”
“We deal with a lot of businesses that are highly regulated by federal and state agencies,” explained Glover. “There’s a lot of overlap, actually, with a lot of what’s going on in MMA. You look at the UFC. It’s a very big organization, same with the MFC, but it’s still run very similar to a close corporation, I’d say.”
While one might expect such a white-collar employer to look askance at one of its attorneys choosing a second career as a professional fighter, Glover says the opposite has been true.
“My job has been very supportive of my fighting thing. Without even mentioning it to my boss, he came up to me and said, ‘Let’s sit down and look at your year, and make sure that we can make this all make sense. I’d love to see you be successful in both endeavors.’”
Aiding Glover in succeeding on the MMA front is his team at Grudge Training Center in Wheat Ridge, Colo. GTC trainer Trevor Wittman and manager Ricky Vasquez were crucial in T-Money’s decision to sign with MFC, while training partners such as Alvin Robinson, Justin Salas, Christian Allen and Matt Wiman help to keep Glover sharp on the mats and in the ring.
Even another group of Grudge athletes with whom Glover does not train with provide inspiration.
“We kind of split the practice, where you have the heavier guys and the lighter guys training, but I always show up early to watch the heavier guys train, like Nate Marquardt, Eliot Marshall, Chaun Sims, Duane Ludwig. I learn a lot just from watching these guys and seeing how they train, the intensity they bring to the gym every day.”
Watching is one thing Glover did plenty of in his time away from the sport. While many would view a five-year interruption as a detriment to a mixed martial artist’s career, the downtime has provided Glover with a sense of perspective on the MMA world and his role therein.
“I’m in a place right now where I’m much more, I’d say, mature as a fighter. I’ve had some years to sit back and sort of watch what’s been going on and what’s been successful,” said Glover.
“I’ve just been able to come to terms with the reality that, when I step in the cage, I’m doing it because it’s something that I really want to do. It’s not something that I necessarily need to be doing. I’m stepping in there because I’m a fighter and I love to fight. And, at the end of the day, that’s what I’m going to show up to do.”
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