This Rollie gave up rolling dough to roll the dice on a burgeoning fighting career.
Winnipeg’s Roland Delorme sold his pizza restaurant in Niverville to concentrate on developing his mixed martial arts talents, and it has already paid early dividends.
Delorme, who has won his share of CFC bouts, got a shot at the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale in Las Vegas recently, and won his bantamweight debut.
“That’s (UFC) the pinnacle of our sport,” said Delorme, 28. “It’s like getting into Major League Baseball. It’s like I’ve made it to the top and now, there’s good money to be made. To be there is just amazing.”
Delorme earned $8,000 just to fight and another $8,000 to win, and is now hoping to sign a long-term contract with the UFC. The most he ever made on a CFC card was $2,500.
Funny thing is, Delorme would not have gotten this shot a year ago because there was no UFC category for him.
“They never had bantamweights or a featherweights until January of last year when the UFC bought out the WEC,” said the 5-foot-9, 135-pound former judo champ. “When they added my weight class, my dream to fight there became a reality … It was surreal.”
Delorme submitted Josh Ferguson with a rear-naked choke 22 seconds into the third round, and his coach, Curtis Brigham, expects him to be offered a contract within the next couple of weeks.
“It wasn’t just the fact that he won the fight but he looked good doing it,” said Brigham, who was in Vegas with him. “It wasn’t boring at all, and they’re looking for somebody to pump up the new category for them.”
Brigham is actually one of three trainers that Delorme employs, and he impressed all three.
“I’m very pleased,” said Kent Brown, his boxing coach. “His boxing has improved by leaps and bounds. He used his jab to knock (Ferguson) down, then submitted him. So, the jab was the story. His jiu jitsu was unbelievable and his striking has really come along.
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