News
Ole Laursen - Looking To Make Up For Lost Time
Posted on : 17 August 2010
Ole Laursen may come from an unusual diversity of backgrounds but his MMA career is only heading in one direction; upwards. Laursen's mother is Filipino, his father is Norwegian and he was born in the Philippines but raised in Denmark.
He is now based in Thailand where he has developed a reputation as one of the top foreign Muay Thai fighters. However he has decided to put Muay Thai on the backburner to focus on an MMA career which began almost 15 years ago.
While Laursen has held world titles in both kick boxing and Muay Thai he has always been interested in MMA and actually had his first fight under amateur rules at the age of 18, losing by arm bar.
He did not make his pro debut until 2006 but when he did it was against highly experienced Japanese fighter Genki Sudo. Despite Sudo being a UFC veteran wth 19 MMA fights already under his belt Laursen did not hesitate in taking the fight,
'I think we all love Genki for his crazy style and I was a fan of his. Besides being an entertainer he was also a great fighter so for me was a thrill and a pleasure to fight him and I accepted right away. They had straight up requested someone with no ground skills so they saw me as a perfect matchup for him,' he said.
Laursen lost the fight but, despite being selected specifically for his lack of a ground game, he was not submitted by Sudo and went the full three rounds. Things did not get any easier for Laursen who found himself up against another highly experienced Japanese fighter, Caol Uno, in his next MMA outing.
Uno was a veteran of 31 fights who, like Sudo, had fought in the UFC. This time Laursen could not go the distance and was submitted at the end of the second round. It was the MMA equivalent of a baptism of fire but Laursen says he has no regrets about stepping in against such a high level of opposition straightaway,
'Losing my first two fights did not put me off MMA at all. I felt at home and I think with bit more training I could have beaten them. It made me realize where I belong,' he said.
Despite this sense of belonging Laursen did not resume his MMA career until 18 months after the loss to Uno. He faced Chinese fighter Liang Guang Yao in his comeback fight and, somewhat surprisingly for a fighter with such strong stand up, won by way of submission.
He went on to win his next two fights, with the most impressive performance of his career coming at Martial Combat 1. Laursen was up against Eduardo Pachu who was named by Sherdog as one of the top ten Brazilians to look out for in 2010. It turned out to be a tremendous war which ended early in the third round when Laursen submitted Pachu with a rear naked choke.
Pachu has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and any question marks which might have lingered over Laursen's ground game were swiftly dispelled by this particular performance. Laursen obviously has excellent stand up but his ground game has evolved to the extent that he can now be considered a truly well rounded mixed martial artist.
Laursen will be back in action at Martial Combat 7 in August and has a title fight lined up in Sweden in November. Now aged 33 he is looking to make up for lost time with a quick succession of MMA victories,
'I regret not being more active as an MMA fighter, I should have gone this way long ago. I have decided not to take anymore K-1 or Muay Thai fights even though I can make more money through them. I love MMA, I love to train MMA, I love to learn new moves and it is my future focus,' he said.
Laursen believes that Martial Combat, a show which is being broadcast to 24 Asian countries by ESPN Star Sports, could provide the spring board with which he can really launch his MMA career,
'Martial Combat is a blessing to all MMA fans in Asia. There are a lot of good fighters in my weight class and eventually all the best guys in the division will have to fight to find out who is actually the very best. I plan to be a part of that showdown and I will fight whoever is in the opposite corner. I am living my dream and will fight anyone if it brings me closer to my goal.' he said.
Laursen, who is the owner of Legacy Gym in north eastern Thailand, is extremely ambitious ambition and he believes that he still has what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the sport,
'Ever since I first saw the UFC I have dreamed of a title shot for the UFC. Winning a UFC title is the greatest accomplishment any MMA fighter can achieve and it is this burning desire which keeps me in the game,' he said.
This fighter of Norwegian and Filipino descent has already been on an epic life journey which has taken him from the Philippines to Denmark to Thailand. If he can build on his three fight winning streak with another two victories in 2010 then, for Ole Laursen, the MMA journey might only just be beginning.
by James Goyder
He is now based in Thailand where he has developed a reputation as one of the top foreign Muay Thai fighters. However he has decided to put Muay Thai on the backburner to focus on an MMA career which began almost 15 years ago.
While Laursen has held world titles in both kick boxing and Muay Thai he has always been interested in MMA and actually had his first fight under amateur rules at the age of 18, losing by arm bar.
He did not make his pro debut until 2006 but when he did it was against highly experienced Japanese fighter Genki Sudo. Despite Sudo being a UFC veteran wth 19 MMA fights already under his belt Laursen did not hesitate in taking the fight,
'I think we all love Genki for his crazy style and I was a fan of his. Besides being an entertainer he was also a great fighter so for me was a thrill and a pleasure to fight him and I accepted right away. They had straight up requested someone with no ground skills so they saw me as a perfect matchup for him,' he said.
Laursen lost the fight but, despite being selected specifically for his lack of a ground game, he was not submitted by Sudo and went the full three rounds. Things did not get any easier for Laursen who found himself up against another highly experienced Japanese fighter, Caol Uno, in his next MMA outing.
Uno was a veteran of 31 fights who, like Sudo, had fought in the UFC. This time Laursen could not go the distance and was submitted at the end of the second round. It was the MMA equivalent of a baptism of fire but Laursen says he has no regrets about stepping in against such a high level of opposition straightaway,
'Losing my first two fights did not put me off MMA at all. I felt at home and I think with bit more training I could have beaten them. It made me realize where I belong,' he said.
Despite this sense of belonging Laursen did not resume his MMA career until 18 months after the loss to Uno. He faced Chinese fighter Liang Guang Yao in his comeback fight and, somewhat surprisingly for a fighter with such strong stand up, won by way of submission.
He went on to win his next two fights, with the most impressive performance of his career coming at Martial Combat 1. Laursen was up against Eduardo Pachu who was named by Sherdog as one of the top ten Brazilians to look out for in 2010. It turned out to be a tremendous war which ended early in the third round when Laursen submitted Pachu with a rear naked choke.
Pachu has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and any question marks which might have lingered over Laursen's ground game were swiftly dispelled by this particular performance. Laursen obviously has excellent stand up but his ground game has evolved to the extent that he can now be considered a truly well rounded mixed martial artist.
Laursen will be back in action at Martial Combat 7 in August and has a title fight lined up in Sweden in November. Now aged 33 he is looking to make up for lost time with a quick succession of MMA victories,
'I regret not being more active as an MMA fighter, I should have gone this way long ago. I have decided not to take anymore K-1 or Muay Thai fights even though I can make more money through them. I love MMA, I love to train MMA, I love to learn new moves and it is my future focus,' he said.
Laursen believes that Martial Combat, a show which is being broadcast to 24 Asian countries by ESPN Star Sports, could provide the spring board with which he can really launch his MMA career,
'Martial Combat is a blessing to all MMA fans in Asia. There are a lot of good fighters in my weight class and eventually all the best guys in the division will have to fight to find out who is actually the very best. I plan to be a part of that showdown and I will fight whoever is in the opposite corner. I am living my dream and will fight anyone if it brings me closer to my goal.' he said.
Laursen, who is the owner of Legacy Gym in north eastern Thailand, is extremely ambitious ambition and he believes that he still has what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the sport,
'Ever since I first saw the UFC I have dreamed of a title shot for the UFC. Winning a UFC title is the greatest accomplishment any MMA fighter can achieve and it is this burning desire which keeps me in the game,' he said.
This fighter of Norwegian and Filipino descent has already been on an epic life journey which has taken him from the Philippines to Denmark to Thailand. If he can build on his three fight winning streak with another two victories in 2010 then, for Ole Laursen, the MMA journey might only just be beginning.
by James Goyder
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