Adam Darby's incredible distance striking stood out on Dana White's Contender Series, but that part of his game wasn't always a focus until he got knocked out.
Darby (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) earned a UFC contract by stopping Patrick Rivera by third-round TKO at DWCS 90. The result extended his winning streak to seven and his fourth consecutive stoppage win. Darby lit up Rivera (13-5) from range with long, accurate punches and kicks. So much so that the fight looked like target practice for Darby.
That was something he picked up along in his journey. As a 6-foot-3 fighter, Darby's reach is a natural advantage over his welterweight opponents, but not all fighters with his frame utilize distance to its fullest. Darby admits it wasn't a focus of his until
a career-changing moment.
"Probably when I got knocked out my second professional fight," Darby told MMA Junkie Radio. "Twenty seconds into the fight, I got a big right overhand, standing TKO. Look, I don't think it should have been stopped, but we won't get into that. But yeah, that kind of taught me right. I'm too close. Why am I getting so close to these guys? I need to stay long, and if I do get close, I need to be in the clinch doing damage.
"I think that kind of showed me. I worked with a guy called Collie (Mahon), he's the head coach at Dublin Combat Academy and muay Thai gym. He's brought my striking on so much to the level of where I am now. It's unbelievable."
The old saying of "you win or you learn" fits perfectly for Darby, 27, who adjusted his game to ensure that using his reach would be a tool to carry him to new heights. As such, he's now in the UFC before he's reached double-digit fights as a professional.
Now that he's on the biggest stage for MMA, Darby wants to be thrown right into the deep end of the division. He loves to fight, and would do it every weekend if weight-cutting wasn't a part of the game. For his UFC debut, Darby wants whatever challenge the UFC is willing to throw his way. He's confident he can run through the division quickly, and certainly doesn't want a slow build toward the top.
"I don't really want to call anyone out, I think I'm good to just fight whoever they give me," Darby said. "If they want to give me some sort of name that's already in the UFC, I'm happy to do that. Give me someone that's good; I don't care. Ideally, they give me a striker, and we have a good back-and-forth, get a nice hundred-grand bonus at the end – but if they want to give me a wrestler, jiu-jitsu or whatever – people think I'm just a striker now after that. Watch any of my fights. I've never been taken down. I've been taken down once, and I was back up two seconds later. Give me whoever you want. Let's see."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC newcomer Adam Darby explains how getting knocked out changed career
