One of the most memorable moments from Season 1 in the Professional Fighters League was Chris Wade’s flying sidekick to open his bout against Yuki Kawana in their second regular-season appearance.
What made it stand out other than it having shades of Liu Kang was that it felt deeply out of character for the collegiate wrestler Wade. In the moment, it felt like an attempt to catch Kawana off-guard — to throw him the curve when he’s sitting dead red — but the reality is that Wade’s decision to literally come flying out of the gate was rooted much deeper than that.
“After what went on between myself and the UFC and the first fight I had with (Natan) Schulte in Chicago, I was just done with myself,” said Wade, who starts his second season in the PFL’s lightweight ranks on Thursday in a matchup with former CES champion Nate Andrews.
Over the course of seven fights with the UFC, the Long Island native amassed a 5-2 record, fighting out his second contract with is victory over Frankie Perez at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, the same building where he’ll meet Andrews on Thursday. Despite a solid record, the UFC never reached out with a new deal prompting Wade to sign with PFL.
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In his regular-season debut, the 31-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to Schulte, whom he would meet again in the semifinals, losing a debated decision prior to the Brazilian going on to capture the Season 1 lightweight championship.
“I was looking at myself in the mirror like, ‘What are you doing? Why do you keep fighting this way?’ I said, ‘Either you’re going to start doing what you’re capable of doing — being vicious, being athletic and treating this thing like it’s a real street fight — or walk away from this sport.’
“I basically put myself under the microscope — either you do this or you’re done,” he added. “I decided I’m going out there and as soon as the ref tells me it’s time to fight, I’m not letting anyone settle in anymore. My feeling is that I’m more explosive, more athletic and I want it more, so when the guy says, ‘Go!’ I’m going to put you on your heels and you’re going to have to deal with it.”
So in his next appearance after losing to Schulte, the referee said, “Fight!” and Wade flew across the cage at Kawana, starting the fight like he was shot out of a cannon before eventually collecting six points for a first-round submission win.
The victory over Kawana was enough to propel Wade into the playoffs, where a majority decision win over Robert Watley in the quarterfinals set up his second encounter with Schulte, the previously unheralded American Top Team representative who advanced to the semis by edging out Johnny Case in a fight that was scored a majority draw.
Their semifinal clash could serve as a case study for judging fights in the future, as Wade out-struck Schulte 75-17 on the feet, throwing 212 punches to the Brazilian’s 46, while Schulte secured two takedowns and seemed content to maintain control from top position. Two of the three officials at cageside scored the fight in favor of Schulte, sending him through to the finals, where he defeated Rashid Magomedov to claim the lightweight title.
The loss sent Wade to social media, where he voiced his frustration with the judging before the plight of his beloved New York sports teams became the focus of his frustrations.
While the loss stung, it became a catalyst for further change for the Long Island MMA product.
“It’s been motivation and it’s just been positive,” Wade said of the controversial setback in October. “I grew up wrestling and I turn every negative into a positive. One of our sayings has been ‘You just let it be too close,’ instead of blaming it on other people.
“When you’re in a sport that involves judging and not point-scoring, it’s easy to pass the buck, but I just started looking at myself like, ‘How did I hit this dude over a hundred times and not put him away? Why didn’t I finish that choke? Why didn’t I knock him out?’ I went back to work on getting stronger, improving my kickboxing.
“How come I’m a state champion wrestler and an All-American, but I let some guy from Brazil take me down two times? That’s unacceptable, so I started picking myself apart.”
An offseason filled with introspection and preparation has the returning lightweight standout champing at the bit to get the season started on Thursday night, as does the opportunity to compete at Nassau Coliseum for a third time.
“It means the world to me and being undefeated there means the world to me,” said Wade, a self-confessed sports fanatic who is 2-0 when fighting at the longtime home of the New York Islanders. “It’s like defending home ice, defending home court, your home field in the major sports — you don’t let someone take you down on your home turf. It’s one thing when you’re away in a series, you drop a game here or there, but when you’re at home, you hold serve.
“I’m in front of my people and they give me energy,” he added. “My friends are there, my family and the place is going to be packed again and you’re not beating me there. You better bring something with you — a stick, a bat, something because you’re not beating me there; it’s not happening.”
It’s a stern advanced warning for Andrews, who arrives in PFL with a 15-1 record and riding a nine-fight winning streak that includes a CES lightweight title win and two successful title defenses.
While the 35-year-old Rhode Island resident has cleaned up while competing for his home state promotion, Wade believes Thursday’s regular season encounter on Long Island is going to be far too much for the PFL newcomer to handle and the start of a big year for himself inside the cage.
“I’ve seen him fight — he’s crafty with Brazilian jiu jitsu, likes to throw his left kick, he’s got a little bit of range, but I’m just going to get in his face and we’re going to have a real fight that I don’t know that he’s ready for,” he said. “The ref is going to say, ‘Fight!’ and I’m going to blitz him and he’s going to have to deal with it and he’s not going to be able to.
“He doesn’t have what it takes to be able to survive that for that long of a period of time.”