There’s a simple reason why all 11 of Derek “Shatterproof” Shorey’s professional MMA fights and eight of his 10 amateur contests have ended in the first round.
“I don’t like fighting,” the Dover-Foxcroft native said this week after his first-round stoppage of Pete Rogers Jr. in the featured undercard fight of Friday night’s CES MMA 38 show at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
“I really don’t. It’s something I realized I probably was good at at a young age, but I never had any desire to fight,” Shore explained. “The reason I still fight now is honestly because it’s something I’m good at, and I’m starting to realize I could make a future for myself with it.”
Shorey (4-7) used an armbar to end what had been a back-and-forth first round with Connecticut native Rogers in their featherweight (145-pound) contest. Sensing that Rogers (2-4) was injured, veteran referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight 3 minutes, 25 seconds into the contest, just before Shorey would have earned the win by submission.
“At the end there was a point where he was on top, and I went into ‘Old Derek’ mode and tried to talk myself into letting him get something or finish the fight,” Shorey admitted. “Then I said to myself, ‘No, get to work,’ and I threw probably the fastest armbar I’ve ever thrown.
“I met with Pete after the match, and he’s OK and I’m thankful for that,” he added. “He said his elbow may require some surgery, but it wasn’t broken or anything like that.”
The victory ended a five-fight losing streak for Shorey, a Navy veteran and former high school wrestling state champion who at age 34 believes that with the improvement reflected in his win against Rogers there’s still time to make a mark in his chosen sport.
“It is late in the game,” Shorey, who trains at the Shatterproof Combat Club based at The Outlet in Dexter, said. “I am late, and I’ve talked myself out of winning a lot of fights and just ended them because I don’t like fighting, but my jiu-jitsu game has really been coming along thanks to (coach) Zack Adams and bringing him into the club.
“It’s really added to my confidence in the fact that I can be a dangerous fighter. Who cares what my record is? I’m still learning.
“And I haven’t taken a lot of damage,” he added, “because none of my fights have gone out of the first round.”
