Double Dragon

One gym in Cleveland holds the UMMAXX Welterweight champ & possibly the next Lightweight champ as well

 

If Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” ever had a

 

real life person to base his book on, one could make an argument that UMMAXX Lightweight

 

Torrance “The Tyrant” Taylor fits that mold.

 

An aspiring lawyer who takes classes during the day, Taylor transforms into one of the best

 

mixed martial arts practitioners at night. He has over 18 wins in his kickboxing career and has

 

positioned himself to fight for the UMMAXX Lightweight Title at UMMAXX 10 “Collision Course”

 

March 27th at the Cuyahoga Convention Center.

 

 

“I have fought in several organizations, Ring of Fire, Strikeforce and now UMMAXX,” comments Taylor. “I’m

 

looking forward to riding this train all the way to the top.”

 

 

Taylor trains at the famed Rising Dragon MMA in Cleveland along with this brother, Tiawan “The Iron Dragon”

 

Howard, and some of the other best fighters in NE Ohio. Howard recently won the UMMAXX Welterweight and

 

is a huge inspiration to his brother in pursuing his MMA career.

 

 

“I did not want to get into the sport, I wanted to play hop scotch with the girls,” smiles Taylor.

 

“My brother needed a training partner and it was a great way to keep me out of trouble, keep me out of jail and

 

kept me in school.”

 

 

In fact, Taylor began to emulate his brothers karate at the age of three. Primarily used as a training partner for

 

his brother, Torrance had his first fight at the age of 17, taking the fight without any jiu-jitsu experience or MMA

 

training.

 

 

Now in just four years time, he has amassed over 15 fights including wins over

 

UFC veterans Jason Dent and Junior Assuncao.  All of this while still preparing

 

to enter law school. He has also become a spokesman for Tri-C Community

 

College, appearing on several local television commercials.   

 

 

His MMA career has not taking a backseat either. He recently stopped Matt Covan at UMMAXX 9 in the first round, taking Fight of the

 

Night honors a trip to the Bahamas’ as his reward. He next fights Glenn Brown at the aforementioned UMMAXX 10 Pro-Am card.

 

 

“I’m excited about fighting in UMMAXX, training hard with my brother, fighting in the backyard”

 

 

That’s where the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome comes back into play. He’s the nicest guy one second and becomes

 

an explosive striking machine the next. Covan found that out this past November at UMMAXX 9.

 

 

 

Yet, just minutes before walking out to cage, Torrance was asked what entrance music he wanted; his

 

response, something from the “Rocky” movies. Appropriately, he came out to “Eye of the Tiger”.