First and foremost, Robert Drysdale (3-0) is known as a decorated grappler.But while he still has a big footprint in that world, he wants to be known as more than just a good jiu-jitsu player. He also wants to become a good MMA fighter, and the guy who spread the grappling gospel around the world.
"You have those associations or that person who excels in that sport," Drysdale told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "And I don't think jiu-jitsu has that. It's the fastest growing sport in the world next to MMA. I just see a lot of potential for growth, and I don't see anyone doing it, to be honest."
Drysdale's gym in Las Vegas is where the big dogs go to practice, at least when it comes to the scores of MMA fighters living in town. Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin have relied on him, as has Randy Couture. Sometimes, half of the UFC Hall of Famer's gym empties to make the trek to his mats.
And that's just the main school in Drysdale's network. There are 28 other affiliates who teach his style of jiu-jitsu, and he hopes that number will expand to 100 in the next five years. Since the Gracies popularized the sport in the states in the early 90s, gyms have sprouted up all over the country. Few of them, though, have fanned out beyond their local roots. Drysdale is trying to build a worldwide network of schools bearing his name.
So, one of those hats is the delegator. As the administrative work piles up, he relies more and more on a small staff who help him run the business side of things.
"I see Drysdale jiu-jitsu as being the biggest jiu-jitsu team in the world 10 years from now," he said.
Of course, he's also trying to nurture a career in MMA after transitioning into the sport this past year. So far, he's fought three professional bouts and finished them all by first-round submission. As an Abu Dhabi champion, he had the kind of street cred that takes most fighters years to build. But it also meant that promoters were often calling him for bouts that were completely unrealistic. Just recently, he batted down an offer to fight at DREAM.17 on two weeks' notice.
As of now, his only scheduled fight is Nov. 12. It's a light-heavyweight title bout against an unnamed opponent at Armageddon Fighting Championships, a Canada-based promotion that signed Drysdale shortly after he decided to make the transition to MMA.
"I don't see why I should be jumping in at the highest level already," he said. "I'm slowly getting there. I'm slowly getting more confident with my hands and my wrestling; my jiu-jitsu has adapted for MMA.
"But that doesn't mean I should be in a hurry to get anywhere. If I got a call from Joe Silva today, I'd be like, 'No. Not today. Maybe a couple of years from now.' Because to me, it really is about the career. It's not, 'I want to be on Spike TV for a few minutes.' You only get one career your whole life. You don't get a second chance."
Drysdale is open to an appearance on "The Ultimate Fighter," though the light-heavyweight class has not been featured since the eighth season of the reality show. So for now, it's building a reputation bit by bit in the fight world.
"Most fighters, they train and they go home and play video games," he said. "I don't get that luxury. I'm on the phone all day; I send probably over 100 text messages a day; I fight 30 people in one day, easy.
"It is stressful. But I have big ideas and big visions of what I want my school to be. I think I'll look back 10 years from now and say, 'Wow, it was worth it.'"
Being the best jiu-jitsu player is no longer Drydale's primary goal, but that doesn't mean he can't make an impact on the sport's direction as he pursues fighting.
"Three years ago, I made [a] decision that MMA was going to be my thing," he said. "It's true, there are guys that do both. But it's just my opinion (that) you're not going to be good at any of them. You have to focus. This sport is so specialized and so competitive, I don't think it's realistic to be competitive in two different arenas, and they really are different."
by Steven Marrocco
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